The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 10/18/2019

Episode Date: October 18, 2019

Colin says the Chiefs are too reliant on Patrick Mahomes and that's why they could struggle while he's hurt. He thinks the loser of the Eagles/Cowboys game is not out of the race for the division because both teams schedules. He thinks Jon Gruden and the Raiders might have something going if they can upset the Packers this weekend. Plus, former Ohio State and Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer explains why Lincoln Riley would at least consider the Cowboys head coaching job if it opened up. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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He's got a little Pittsburgh Cedar thing there going on, a little bit. Yeah, with the black and yellow going this weekend. So last night, kind of scary moment for us. Yes. Yeah, so there's Patrick Mahomes. We're waiting for the MRI. If he doesn't need surgery, he'll be out, they say. The speculation is three weeks.

So we won't speculate. We're not going to go Twitter doctor on this. I have no idea. I'm not a doctor. I don't even have a hunch, so we'll wait on it. But there's a lot of feelings that came out last night when I saw it. Let me start with the first is, good God. The football gods keep giving Tom Brady these little subtle gifts.

Andrew Luck retires, Big Ben out for the year. Nick Ful's got hurt after a quarter. Patrick Mahomes, cross your fingers. I mean, literally, Brady's roadblocks now. His healthy roadblocks to the Super Bowl are Deshawn Watson. Houston's never won in Foxborough. And Lamar Jackson, a kid who struggles throwing the ball. You know, you cross your fingers on it.

I think it's good for football when Patrick Mahomes plays. I actually think it's good for everybody. not just Kansas City. I think it's good for the NFL. It's good for CBS. They've got those games. I don't like to see Patrick Mahomes out. I'm crossing my fingers.

I love Andy Reid. I think they're a Super Bowl team with him. And it's just, I mean, the NFC is a gauntlet. You have no idea. Russell Wilson's 5 and 1. And Aaron Rogers is 5 and 1. And Garopolo's 5 and 0. And Drew Breeze is coming back.

And Minnesota and Caroline and Carson Wentz wins this Sunday. And the Rams are the 11th best team. I kid you not in the NFC. The 11th best team with McBey. The NFC is a gauntlet. Whoever comes through the NFC is going to be well deserved. I think Patrick Mahomes is good for football.

I would like to see him up so the Patriots have a challenge because I think football is better when we don't know who's going to win the games. And I really feel bad for Patrick Mahomes. But here's what worries me about Kansas City. And this worries me, this is one of my rules in life. There are things I buy in life, but I don't want to be dependent on those things for my happiness, right? Like, I'm going to buy a nice car, but if it's making me too happy,

it says my life is fairly shallow, right? Like, I like nice things like you do, but I don't want to be dependent on those things for happiness. Here's the thing. Kansas City, and this is actually, the media tends to think this is great, is becoming too dependent on Patrick Mahomes. And they're not even paying him yet. When they pay him $300 million, what do you think that defense, which is bad now, is going to look like?

Green Bay became way too dependent on Aaron Rogers. This year, they're not. Now they've got a defense. Now they've got a running game. Think about New England. Tom Brady got hurt. They won 11 games. Think about the Saints.

Drew Breez gets hurt. They're 4-0. Think about San Francisco, that defensive front. They can win low-scoring games with a play. backup quarterback. Think about Seattle. They've got a running game in Pete Carroll's defense. Those teams need quarterbacks, but they're

not completely reliant on them. And I think Green Bay, two years ago, figured it out. God, if Aaron misses games, we can't even move the ball. So Green Bay went out and went and drafted nothing but defensive players in the first three rounds. Their free agents were nothing but top defensive

players. And this year, they're trying to establish a running game. So they're not, they want Aaron, but They don't want to be totally dependent on Aaron. And that's what worries me about Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. Listen, I work with Troy Aikman and Terry Bradshaw. Two Fox great broadcasters. They have seven Super Bowls.

Okay. Both Akeman and Bradshaw do not win those Super Bowls without both had great running games and both had great defenses. And Troy Aikman missed games in Dallas and they won. You can't be completely dependent. on an individual. Nobody's saying the Cowboys didn't want Aikman. Nobody's saying Bradshaw didn't make the Steelers better.

That's not the point. But Pittsburgh could win games with that defense and running game if Terry missed two weeks. And if Troy got out with a bum knee for a couple of weeks, shoulder issue, Dallas was good enough with Emmett and that defense to win with a backup. That's where you want to be in this league. New England, right now, you can't score on them. You can't score on New England. I mean, Buffalo is really building it the right way, where Buffalo's defense is great, their coaching's amazing, they're starting to run the football.

They don't have to play very good offensively. They can still win on the road. You know, this league is so much about treading water when the big injury happens. Philadelphia loses Carson Wentz. They win a Super Bowl with Nick Foles. The Colts lose Andrew Luck. They're three and two, and I think they win this weekend and lead the division. Carolina loses Cam Newton.

They're 4-0 without him. Again, the Saints, 4-0 with the Hall of Famer Drew Bree's gone. We all, you want the great quarterback. But I think Kansas City's become like Green Bay two years ago or a year ago, way due dependent on him. There's all sorts of players on this team. You should be able to lose Patrick Mahomes for three weeks and go two and one with Andy Reed is your coach with those skill players in that division? So I'm crossing my fingers on Patrick.

He's a remarkable kid and a great player. But be very, very careful. They don't pay Patrick Mahomes anything now. What happens when they do? This going forth, remember, Andy Reed doesn't have a history of building great running games. Like, that's not his thing. That's what worries me about Kansas City. Andy always does the passing thing. Andy always gets the quarterbacks right. They may also want to create a running game, not forcing Mahomes to be magical, hold on to the ball, wait too long, have to hit the big track meet home run play down the sideline. Again, no ligament damage. If that's true, then reports say he'll only miss three weeks. We're waiting for an MRI. I'm not going to speculate. I'm not a Twitter doctor. That's where we stand. By the way,

I've got another thing I heard about Mahomes, which I think is ridiculous. I'll get to that in three, five minutes. All right. So, It's better for me in my business. Let me segue to the Cowboy Eagle game. It's better in my business if I create urgency. I mean, look at sports right now. World Cup every four years gets huge ratings. Olympics every four year gets huge ratings.

Football once a week on Sunday gets huge ratings. The more urgency there is, you know, college basketball, regular season doesn't have ratings. March madness, Duke loses, season's over. Urgency. Ratings go up. So it's better. Sports is better when there's urgency. And it would be great for me to go on the air today and say,

Cowboys, Eagles. It's a game of the year. It means everything. Michael Irvin this week NFL Network said, this is it for the loser. Honestly, it worries me because Dallas has injuries and very key position right now. And I'm very concerned that the loser of this game

may end up missing the playoffs. Totally disagree. First of all, let's talk NFC. 12 teams are still in the NFC chase. Take out Washington, disaster. Atlanta, they've quit on their coach. Arizona, talented but too young to win. And Tampa Bay, I don't trust James Winston.

I even think the Giants are still in it. Sequan's back. Evan Ingram's back. And they play the Dolphins and the Redskins second half of the schedule. And I think the Rams brought in Jalen Ramsey. That buoys the locker room. Todd Gurley's back. Offensive line getting healthier.

I think they win this weekend. They're four and three. So I count the Rams and Giants is absolutely still in it. Philadelphia and Dallas, neither of these teams are good enough to put the other away. They've got massive secondary issues in Philadelphia. Both have brutal schedules. The only division in football to me that feels, and I won't even say decided, because injuries happen, the only division in football now where I really feel like I would strongly say New England will win their division.

because they've already beaten Buffalo and they're in a game and a half up. And that feels like to me the safest bet in the league. But in the NFC, ask yourself this. If you think the cowboy Philadelphia winner is home free or has a big edge, let's just take Dallas. Let's say Dallas wins Sunday and goes four and three. They've got a buy. Then they face, I'm going to read the next 10 weeks. I'll take the Giants game out.

They should win that. then they face the Vikings defense at Detroit at New England, Buffalo's defense, at Chicago and 9 degrees, at Philadelphia, and the Rams at home. With Jalen Ramsey. You think four and three decides anything with Dallas? So I think the loser of this game is fine. I mean, as fine as somebody is in that division, because Washington's not a threat, and I think New York still is. and I think the Cowboys and the Eagles will play to week 17.

This is only the first of two games. They're going to play to week 17 to figure out the winner of this division. Philadelphia's got a major problem in the back end. I'm not sure they can solve it, although injuries heal, they'll get better. And Dallas just isn't special enough offensively, especially with an aging offensive line that gets hurt. So it would be much better for me if I sold urgency because urgency works. That's why the NFL gets the ratings.

It's one game a week. We gather around the TV and the World Cup and March Madness and the Olympics get ratings. You just don't get them very often or once a year or once a week. But I think the loser of this game is fine because I don't think either of these teams right now, the way they're built and health-wise, are good enough to put the other away. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

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This is one of the things being considered. We don't know about Patrick Mahomes. We all cross our fingers for Andy Reid, for the Chiefs, for the NFL, for the AFC. I like to see Tom Brady challenged. And I think when Andrew Luck retired and Big Ben's out for the year, I mean, you got some limitations here in the AFC who can even challenge Tom Brady and Foxborough. You can't trust Josh Allen. He's a kid. I mean, you can't ask Lamar Jackson to go in having played 15 games and went in New England.

That's outrageous. I mean, Deshawn Watson, I think, can do it. But I saw a story this morning. I'm not going to mention the outlet or the name because I think it's a silly column. But he's saying here, you could have big questions in Kansas City. Do they push for a return in a matter of weeks and keep the season alive, but risk another shot at an injured knee that could need eventual surgical attention? You play through it.

You don't punt on the season, not with Andy Reid, not in that division. if Oakland loses Sunday, nobody in the division has a winning record. This is sports. I told you this years ago, I had an NFL general manager tell me this, a Super Bowl winning general manager. When you pay an NFL quarterback, I'm not talking to baseball, player, a basketball player, a hockey player. When you pay an NFL quarterback, 75% of it is for talent and production. 25% of it is toughness and leadership. Play hurt.

No, this year alone, Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Gardner, Minchew, John. Josh Allen, Mitch Trubisky, Nick Foles, Big Ben, Andrew Luck, Tom Brady was on an injury report. I mean, you play. Deshawn Watson had to take a bus to a game last year. He couldn't fly. Aaron Rogers was hurt in the first half of the first game and played hurt all year. Drew Breeze is rushing to get back and his team is 4-0 without him. Carson Wentz is always hurt.

Donovan McNabb threw four touchdowns. on a broken ankle. Andrew Luck finished a game with a lacerated kidney. Philip Rivers played the AFC championship on a torn ACL. It's funny, there's a doctor on Twitter. He's a former charger doctor. He's a Twitter doctor. He talks about this stuff.

I think he was the doctor when Philip Rivers played on a torn ACL. You can be a doctor, but part of the salary is you play if you can play. By the way, we compare Patrick Mahomes to Brett Farve. You think Brett Farve was always healthy? Do you see the hits Brett Fav took? I know Kurt Warner played hurt. I saw Kurt Warner take some of the biggest shots I've ever seen a quarterback take. Joe Montana, go back into YouTube, biggest sacks on Joe Montana.

Joe Montana was, when he started before Bill Walsh got there, I mean, Joe Montana didn't always play with the perfect offense. He got beat up early in his career by those New York Giants defenses. So Troy Aikman played hurt. Peyton Manning always played hurt. And so, you know, we're pre-MRI here. Let's not speculate on what happens. But, you know, if the idea that, oh, you could play hurt and if you play hurt, Sam Darnold,

they worried about a spleen exploding last week. He wore a flack jacket. It's 75% of your quarterback salary. This is not baseball where you have another game tomorrow. You got another game tomorrow. And you have no salary cap. So some teams just have a surplus of money in town. In the NBA, regular season, you.

You don't risk it with LeBron James, Kauai Leonard. They have a term called load management. There is no load management. Now, you take him out of the game last night? Absolutely. And you rest him until you feel you're getting the 80% of Patrick Mahomes. But if he can play, the NFL's different. And if I look at Kansas City schedule the rest of the way,

boy, oh boy, there's a lot of home game. Green Bay at home, Minnesota at home, Oakland at home, Denver at home, Chargers at home, at Tennessee. even with Patrick Mahomes at 75%, you're favored in all those games. Now, do I believe this team should be less reliant on Patrick Mahomes? I absolutely do. But at this point, they're not.

This is what they are. They are reliant on him. And they can win games with Matt Moore. And this is not me in any way saying, I don't care about Patrick Mahomes. That's not the point here. The point is I can give you a million examples of Peyton Manning playing hurt. And it's, I think it, you know, I think it comes with the territory.

Brett Farr has spent an entire career waking up on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday morning, not feeling great. Same with Troy Aikman. They may have had good cowboy teams. Troy Akeman took a lot of shots. And football's never been safer. I mean, they don't even hit during practice now. I mean, hit during the way. And they only wear pads once a week during the week in NFL seasons right now.

Once a week you wear pads. And even when you wear pads, it's not a heavy hitting practice. So in college football, I have had coaches tell me by the third game in September, they stop hitting in practice. Like we don't, the kids, they have the, you know, the metal, the toughness by week three in college football, it's about keeping the kids healthy, having them ready by Saturday, having them hydrated, healthy, and ready to go. So I just think the idea that if Patrick could play, you'd worry about him, yeah, listen, it could help. The other thing is, don't you think Patrick Mahomes would want to play? these are professional athletes. These quarterbacks, you can't keep them off the field.

You know, they don't, I mean, what's funny about quarterback is quarterback tends to wear, if you ever played football in your life, you wear the red jersey. So there's a sensibility with quarterbacks in the NFL. They want to prove they're as tough as everybody else because you can't hit them in practice, right? You're not allowed to hit the quarterback in practice. They often wear the red jerseys. So quarterbacks have this thing where they love to take their office. offensive lineman to dinner. They buy their offensive lineman gifts to say, listen, I appreciate it.

And I know how you've hit all the time and I don't have to hit. There's a real understanding in culture and football that the quarterbacks, special teams guy in the quarterback, you don't hit them in practice. You don't tackle the punter. You don't tackle the kicker. Everybody else gets their butt kicked. So quarterbacks like to prove, hey, I can play in pain here. I can take a hit. And I think it's going to be really hard to keep Patrick Mahomes off the field. I think Patrick Mahomes going to be like, no, no, no, no, no, no. I've watched my entire offensive line get hurt this year. I've watched everybody on this team be hurt for two years.

You think I can't play hurt? I think Patrick will really want to play. And, you know, he's a tough kid. He's been playing the last few games hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. I think the two big beneficiaries of Patrick Mahomes being out for three or four weeks, Tom Brady and New England can extend that lead, play home in Foxborough later in the year. so if they have to play Mahomes, it's in cold weather, it's in Foxborough.

The other one is the Raiders. The other one is the Raiders. Raiders go and beat Green Bay. Don't kid yourself. Green Bay's on a short week. Green Bay's got their issues. Green Bay can be pushed around sometimes defensively up front, and the Raiders are top eight in rushing.

Derek Carr's 73% completion percentage, and they're seventh on third down offensively. The Raiders can keep your quarterback on the field. They do a little bit of Baltimore sometimes. They get first downs, first downs. You look at the Raiders schedule, folks. I got news for you. At Green Bay, at Houston, there are a lot of home games after that.

Detroit home, Chargers home, Cincinnati home, Tennessee home, Jacksonville home. They end the year Chargers, Denver. Both will be out of the playoff races, we presume. So if John Gruden was talking about facing Aaron, I just like John Gruden talking about quarterbacks. He was talking about facing Aaron Rogers this week. Here it is. Rogers is still working to snap count.

You see him beat Denver with the hard. count is magnificent scrambling, creating offense is uncommon. It's just unbearable to watch. I hate watching this guy. He's fun to watch, but he's really not fun to watch when you've got to play against them. He still has a very quick trigger, deadly accurate, a lot of overall athleticism, and a great competitor. He saw it again the other night.

Listen, they beat. They beat Green Bay. Kansas City's 5 and 2, Oakland's 4 and 2, and the Chargers Denver feel dead. And all turned for me. I was out on the Raiders until they beat Chicago and until I saw this in the locker room from the great John Gruden. I don't have a disco.

Well, let's all start dancing. I'm 56 years old. That's the most fun I've ever had tonight. I'm so proud of you. You have no idea. I mean, we've been through a roller coaster already, but what you proved today is one thing. You can beat anybody anywhere on any

time song. We're going to have a great flight home. We have some injuries. I want everybody to have a great bye week. You have a whole week off. I got to be honest. I got to be honest. Makes me want to jump on the bandwagon.

He is so good at a microphone. They beat Chicago in London. I'm like, okay, I'm wrong. I'm wrong. I mean, that's the magic that he possesses. Thank you. That's the man. You know, Adam Gase comes up to the, I don't know if everybody's hurt this week.

And Gruden's like, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. He's a salesman, and you're selling players all the time. So, you know, I was wrong on that. What's up, everybody, John Middlecough, three-and-out podcast. That's me. Go subscribe if you like football, because that's all I talk about. Coming up on today's show, Patrick Mahomes,

and why the league potentially avoided disaster, it wasn't anyone's fault. The Rams trade, Jacksonville's perspective, Jim Harbaugh, huge gains Saturday night, and I dive through all the weekend's games. Again, John Middlecock, Three and Out podcast. Go subscribe. Oh, I'm so excited to have Urban Meyer on. Part of the Big Noon kickoff. Next week in Columbus for Wisconsin

and the Badgers, which is going to be a great game. Best defense Wisconsin's had maybe in my life. A bunch of shutouts. Really, really good. Jim Leonard has done a great job. So Urban Meyer, my buddy is here. Okay, let's start with this. Lincoln Riley, I suggested this week. Dallas Cowboy Jobs different.

Jerry Jones is hired Jimmy Johnson out of college and Barry Switzer and won Super Bowls. That's a big job. Okay. Do you think Lincoln Riley, even as great as Oklahoma is, that's a great job, would he consider leaving for the Cowboys? Pure speculation because he's not, I know him, but I don't know him like that. But that's the one. You know, that's New York Yankees.

That's the Dallas Cowboys. That's the one. Great city. You've got Dak Prescott. You got Zeke Ellie. You got loaded team. You know, and I can't speak for him. Obviously, I hate to even speculate because I don't know him.

That's really not fair. but to me, that's the one job in professional football. You kind of say, I got to go do that. Had you been called by the Cowboys? I have not. But if you would have been, you'd have spent a couple days with it. Sure. Absolutely.

That one, yes. Okay, fair enough. All right, let's go to this. This is also a situation that you didn't deal with us a lot because you were a turnaround specialist, but boosters turn on you quick. You can lose one game, and the guy that you think loves you, the big rich guy in the room is a little icy at the cocktail party.

Harbaugh is, I think they're getting a little restless boosters. You know, gyms can be a little bit of work here. How do you not let that get into your head as a coach if you've underachieved a little? Because I think I'm starting to read stuff now. Even some of the Michigan diehards are over it. How do you make sure that's not a distraction for you personally? Well, once again, speaking, putting yourself in his mindset. You know, I think coaches during the season, you have zero time to even think about that.

You're dealing with injuries. Who's going to leave for the NFL draft recruiting? You don't have time after the season. And, you know, if it does get nasty, which I don't think it's nasty right now, but you lose at Penn State, you lose again to Ohio State, and I think you can't ignore it then. You know, once again, I very gratefully have not been in that scenario. But I don't know how, like right now, zero conversation. However, you get a couple, because right now they've only lost one game.

They control their own destiny. You go win at Penn State that solves everything. So I don't think at now, but you lose this one and then you lose that one at the end of November. Those can be ugly off-seasons. Ugly. But once again, that's once again speculation. But the Wolverine alumni, that's a proud place. And you can't, you know, that'd be five in a row to Ohio State.

You lose to Penn State. That's a problem. Yeah. I think Clemson's the best team in the country. I think they're bored. I think USC, Pete Carroll dealt with this. USC was so much better than the PAC 12, Pac 10 at the time, that Pete wins a title,

it brings back Liner at Bush, and that coaching staff and Peter, like, I don't know if you get motivated, we're a 27-point favorite over Oregon State. I think Clemson's really good. I think apathy is setting in. I've watched him at times, and I'm like, boy, they are not focused and they are not tight.

You'll love this. So we wanted in 06, we did not have a returning team coming back. So that's a different story. 08, we won it. We had Tebow, everybody back, and nothing was ever good enough. We won every game during a season, and every game, why did you only win by two scores? It was very hard

to coach that team. A lot of the team already had their eyes set on the NFL. Great kids, but once again hard to coach. We wanted in a 14, have a bunch of them back in 15. That was the Cardell and JT year and Zeke and Thomas. Very hard. And so I met with

Joe Madden one time. And this is after they won the World Series. Cubs manager. And we sat about, and he actually had it written down, all the teams that have failed to repeat because the world changes. You change as a coach, your players change, the hunger might change.

And once again, it's speculation what's going on in Clemson. They have a great team, great staff, but they don't look great. But that does not mean they're not. It's still a great team. I remember when you were at Florida and Billy Donovan won a championship, right? They brought the whole team back all NBA guys. They sleepwalked

until a tournament. They were, I mean, it was like they had Well, Joe Kim Noah one time at a game, they barely won. I was in a locker room and Billy jumped their tail about something. And Noah looked at me, he goes, you know, it used to be fun winning around here. And I remember me and Billy talking about that saying, how do you keep? Because it gets on the coach too. You have this premium placed on excellence. You don't play and you should beat the mess out of this team and you don't.

You got to let the players enjoy it. And I tried to do that in 15th. Let them enjoy a win, then fix the problems after they enjoy a win. Who's the best team in college football? I think LSU, and here's why. When I hear the committee say they don't look well, first of all, who's making that to say, who has the right? You know, certainly you're a fan, but who's got the expertise to say what looks good, what doesn't look good? You know, I hear some of these people say, well, they don't look good.

I'm like, how do you know that? You know, they're not playing great. There's a lot going into a team. Florida is pretty good football team. And LSU made the decision to go to Texas and play, and they won. LSU made the decision to play Florida. I mean, it's part of their game. They beat two top 10 teams.

They look great doing it. I say LSU right now. And then I think Alabama and Ohio State have the best rosters. I think they're a little bit better than LSU, but LSU's earned that right with two top 10 wins. By the way, the three northern teams, and I think they're all legit, I think this Notre Dame team proved it at Georgia. It's a real football team.

this is the best Wisconsin team quarterback aside coach I think this Wisconsin team is the best defense I liked their quarterback you liked their quarterback yeah we actually did a little piece on him the other day and something tells me you know I don't know him and obviously never coached against him but they had a good player that left Horniburg remember he left

and I liked him so you this kid must be that much better and he's been challenged a little bit I like the way he gets the ball out on time I love the Cephas, that receiver they have. By the way, Jonathan Taylor is Zeke-like, maybe not Zeke. Coach, he is a track guy. He's a real deal. And by the way, I don't know Jim Leonard. He played in the NFL.

He was a great badger. That's the best badger defense I've ever seen. We're going to find it in a week from now. It's going to be game on. Wow, that'll be incredible. So, you know, it's funny about I'm watching the NFL in college, and you're really through and through. You're a college guy.

and I watched the NFL. It used to be, I always thought the college jobs a better life. Then they added a second recruiting period. And then they added the transfer portal. And this is why I bring up the Lincoln Riley situation. I don't know if it is. I mean, you recruit a quarterback. If the dad's upset his son's not playing, you're on the phone with a family.

And by the way, I support kids transferring, but some are transferring two and three times. That's what makes me believe, I think, Nick Saban was 50, he'd go to the NFL. I think he's closer to 65. Is college football for the Harbaas, who, by the way, at the end of this year, he may make a decision. He succeeded in pro football. Is college football got a little bit of a coaching crisis where the joy has been sapped out of a little bit of the college coaching experience? A little bit because the recruiting rules changed.

And you mentioned the early signing period. All that's done is sped up everything. When we first got into coaching, you had, after the season's over, you went recruited your tail off. The month of December and January, had signing date, and you moved on. Now it's a 365. And even more so than this early sign-in date is this early visitation period. So every weekend, a lot of times in April, May, and June, you're allowed to bring kids on official visits. And that's usually a time when a coach has young children or children and they want to go watch and play baseball.

And someone says, well, those people are people too now. the coaches. So you're exactly right. The lifestyle is much different. That got to me quite a bit. It did. You reach a point like, you know, I remember another weekend, another weekend, another weekend, another weekend, another weekend. And it's 24-7 because everybody's making decisions now early, you're on the phone nonstop with sophomores. Think about what I just said. You're talking to 16-year-olds that are getting ready to make decisions for the rest of their life that basically aren't ready to make that decision yet everybody's pushing them to. by the way watching Ohio State and not coaching them is it hard because they're really good i didn't think they'd be this good they're really good what's what's the experience like for you 45 seconds left well i love uh Ryan day obviously and our coaching staff everything's still in place the infrastructure that's people don't give that enough value the strength coach the nutritionist the the recruiting those people are all still there no it's not hard i mean that was my dream to hand it off

to someone even make it better and i think he's is and I think that's one of the, if not the most talented team in America, it's them or Alabama. Yeah, no, when you watch the speed of two or three teams in the country, they just, I always look, what do you like in the perimeter, catch up speed corners, linebacker speed in the flat, really, really good. And they're all NFL guys. Yep. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice 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 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, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a dad. 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, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

It's your responsibility to not just seek help, but to identify that you need help. This is Mental Health Awareness Month. Tune in to the podcast, Just Healed with Dr. Jay, and take real steps toward healing, growth, and becoming your best self. When you hear the word healing, what does that mean for you? What came right back to mine are the three P's that I live by. I'll go through the process of healing so that patience, that perseverance,

and that prayer equals healing to me. From understanding your mental health to doing the work, we break down practical tools, real conversations, and the mindset shifts you need to move forward and thrive. You matter too. Your mental health is your responsibility, not your wife, not your partner, not your children, not the church, not the pastor, not the council. It's your responsibility.

It's time to stop putting your healing on hold and start doing something about it. Listen to Just Here with Dr. Jade on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. We have big news today, breaking news today. It's actually as good as bad news can get. Ian Rappaport broke the story. The MRI has confirmed that Chief Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a dislocated kneecap, not good, but not significant additional damage. He'll seek opinions, additional opinions to be sure the plan is for him to return this season after a brief absence.

So I got three things to say about it. Number one, yes, he's going to have to play hurt this year. Andrew Luck played with a lacerated kidney. Carson once plays hurt every week. Brett Farve, whose Mahomes is idle. You think he was healthy on Sundays. Listen, in the NFL, you play hurt. You play hurt.

And quarterbacks, especially who get to wear the jersey all week, they feel like they need to play hurt because everybody else in the locker room is. So Drew Breeze is rushing to get back. His team's 4-0 without him. You know, Deshawn Watson had to take a bus to a game last year. They were worried that he couldn't play. Sam Darnold has a flack jacket on because they don't want his spleen to explode.

Aaron Rogers, for the record last year, Aaron doesn't get credit for this. Aaron played hurt all last year. He got hurt game one against the Bears. Aaron wasn't right all last year. Andrew Luck played entire seasons not healthy. Philip Rivers played an AFC championship game with a torn ACL. I was looking at the list of guys this year that have been on the first. the injury report. Patrick Mahomes, Baker, Mayfield is hurt. I'm not sure if he's on a report yet.

Sam Darnold, Gordon Minchew, Josh Allen, Mitch Trubisky, Nick Foles, Big Ben's out, Andrew Luck retired, it's the league. So that's number one. You play hurt. Number two is that when you start looking at Kansas City, what worries me about Kansas City, and I think they feel a little bit like the Green Bay Packers with Aaron Rogers a few years ago, that we were all like, oh my God, I love watching Aaron Rogers. Oh my God, I love watching Kansas City. But they became so Aaron Rogers dependent. I think the Chiefs have become two Patrick Mahomes dependent. New Orleans loses Drew Brees, they're 4-0. Carolina loses Cam Newton. They're 4-0. You got to build beyond your star quarterback. And they're not paying Mahomes yet. You've got to be careful here because

Aaron Rogers gets hurt. I mean, the season is over. They can't move the football. New England, Tom Brady, greatest quarterback ever left for a year. They went 11 and 5. There's a difference between wanting a great quarterback and having to have him to just win games. Troy Aikman missed games for the Cowboys because of Emmett Smith and that defense and that coaching, they want a lot of games. Terry Bradshaw missed games. Chuck Null, that running game and defense. They won a lot of games.

So that's what's impressive about New Orleans this year. I mean, they lost Drew Brees early in the year. early in the year and it's like, all right, and their schedule wasn't easy. Dallas, go to Seattle, divisional games. So I think the second thing, number one, he's hurt, you got to play hurt. You don't punt in the season. Number two is what scares me about Kansas City, Andy Reid doesn't have a history of developing great running games.

I think they have to look at this injury, like the Packers looked at their team of two years ago and said, we're just too damn Aaron dependent. We love him, but we should only ask Aaron to have to be. be great four times a game, not 28. And we've got to be able to understand that some weeks Aaron's going to be off. We've got to have a running game and a defense to keep us in games when Aaron's not a superstar. Even Aaron Rogers has bad weeks. Patrick Mahomes has bad weeks. Tom Brady's had terrible weeks. He had two last year. And the third thing is, you know, when you start looking at Kansas City schedule here. And here's another reason you can't put on the season.

Andrew Luck retired, Big Ben's gone, Nick Foles hurt. The AFC is wide open. Like, you got to consider that. You got to think to yourself, listen, if Kansas City was 0 and 6, don't come back. If the Raiders lose to Green Bay, there's not a team above 500 in that division. And look at this schedule. They got a Tennessee game, a charger game. They got a lot of home games.

They got a buy coming up here. So you can't. You do look at your schedule in this league. I had Rashad Jennings on earlier. He said, of course. If you're 1 and 8, guys find ways the shoulder hurts a lot more than it did if you were 8 and 1. So I think Kansas City is going to be fine. As Joy told us, Vegas still has them as a top 5 Super Bowl team.

I have them probably top 6 or 7. I don't think they're New England today. Even when Mahomes comes back at 75, 80 percent, I don't think they're New England. I don't think they're San Francisco. I don't think they're the Saints. Then you can start putting them in a class of five teams. I think they are. All right.

Let me segue to something before I do. Don't forget MDrive, Everyday Supplement. I take it. MDrive from N.com. Boost natural testosterone levels already in your body. Patrick Mahomes, dislocated kneecap, out about three to four weeks. Season not over. We'll come back.

Let's segue to this. When you get to week six or seven, the Seattle Baltimore game is fascinating to me. First of all, Russell Wilson is the MVP of the league. But Seattle's a weird team. They were outplayed last week and won due to turnovers. They were outplayed at home against the Rams. It came a football length from losing. New Orleans beat him at home.

Cincinnati, they struggled with. But Russell Wilson is a magical player. And I said, I think Baltimore is going to upset them this week. Baltimore has an identity. They've got flaws, but they do what they do and they do it well. Their number one time of possession, Baltimore is number one in rushing, number one in total yards. Baltimore is the most unique team in the NFL. And what I love about the NFL, I'm going to really figure out both Seattle and Baltimore this week.

I think I like Baltimore, but they've only been. beaten crappy teams, Miami and Arizona, and they lost to Baker-Mayfield in Cleveland and lost to Kansas City. I'm going to finally figure, if they go to Seattle and win, I'm on board. They're limited, but what they do, they do extraordinarily well. But I feel that way about Seattle, that Russell Wilson is just saving them every week. He's just making plays. So I think this is a fascinating game, and I'm going to call for Baltimore in an upset. Pete Carroll talked about the challenges of facing a guy that's on-paced Lamar Jackson to surpass Michael Vick as the greatest running quarterback

in NFL history. He's as good as we've ever seen. He's as fast and as elusive as we've seen. He's tough and physical and explosive and creative, and he's throwing the ball well too. So it's a real nightmare. It's very difficult. In this offense, more than any offense that we'll face,

will demand that we have to do right. And that means you've got a gap, control stuff, the way we scrape, the way we fill, and fit our run plays, they tax you to the maximum. I think this is a fascinating game because everybody thinks Seattle is great. But if everybody, who do I rely on a lot, Vegas? Vegas has this as a field goal game. So Vegas is telling you they don't buy Seattle as much as everybody else.

And that's where I have my concerns about Seattle. Russell's just making ridiculous plays to save them. I don't think their offensive lines great. I think their defense is a work in progress. There's some gaps in that defense. They've become a little reliant on needing David Copperfield slash Russell Wilson that just pull stuff out of a hat. And Baltimore, man, if you're starting a company,

most companies don't have huge capital, right? You have to have an identity. Like this is what we do as a company. Is there a team in the league that does what they do better than Baltimore? I don't think there is. Now, the concern is they beat Miami, Arizona, Pittsburgh without Big Ben in Cincinnati. So to me, this is kind of the unveiling of the truth. This is the truth game.

Is Seattle been a little bit too Russell Wilson, Magic, Smoke and Mears? Is Baltimore a team that can beat the crappy teams, but he really can't beat an elite quarterback? I can't wait to watch this one. But, boy, I'll tell you about Baltimore and this coaching staff. What they do is time of possession, nobody's close. Running the football, nobody's close. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, 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 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.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit are armored?

It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all.

Embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.