The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 10/31/2019

Episode Date: October 31, 2019

Colin says the Astros lost the World Series because their best players didn't hit, not because they made a pitching change. Despite Baker's outburst towards the media Colin actually thinks the Browns are about to become a playoff contender and he explains why. He says there is a silver lining to Steph Curry breaking his hand. Greg Cosell of NFL Films talks about Lamar Jackson vs the Patriots and tells Colin why Jimmy Garoppolo isn't all that important to the 49ers. Plus, Colin gives his three best bets of the college football weekend including some upsets in the Pac-12. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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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.

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Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. 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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, we are loaded.

It's Halloween on a Thursday. What a show. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio. Sports Radio and FS1. Unbelievable job. It's almost like we work on a movie lot or something. What do you know?

Fox has done an amazing job. Look at the mysterious fog, the cemetery. Very spooky. Very, very spooky. Well, Joy, how are you today? Greg CoSelling one hour or NFL meat sandwich. We love that. It's going to be an exciting NFL weekend.

I'm great. Awesome game seven last night. It was great. It's Halloween. Yeah, we don't talk. ton of baseball, but when baseball gives you urgency, it's really, really exciting. It was intense. Let me start with this.

The Washington Nationals won the series. A.J. Hinch, the Astros manager, didn't lose the series. It's not hard to figure out. Go to an NBA finals. Go to a Stanley Cup finals. Go to a baseball world series. It always comes down to the same thing. To get to a World Series or an NBA final, you have to have a bunch of great players.

whose great players play better. Last year in the NBA finals, Toronto, Kyle Lowry had only one bad game. Kauai Leonard was amazing. A Siakum was great. And the Warriors great players, Katie got hurt, Clay got hurt twice, Looney got hurt, Raptors won.

Last year's World Series, Dodgers had a bench Cody Bellinger. Mookie Betts was great for the Red Sox. Chris Sale was great for the Red Sox. That's all this series was about. Don't blame A.J. Hinch, and manager for a move you didn't like in the seventh. This was about the Astros for seven games, especially at home, never getting a hit after the seventh.

All of the Nats stars were great. Strasbourg. Game six, dominant, two and oh, unbelievable. I mean, go up and down. Max Scherzer, gritty, great one he had to be. Anthony Rendon, unbelievable late inning hitter. Juan Soto batted 333. The team batted 280 after the seventh inning.

Then go to the Astros best players. Justin Verlander was 0 and 2, an ERA at 5.4, and was gassed in game 6. Jose Al-Tuve couldn't do anything, a great player with runners-on. Alex Bregman didn't hit at home, 3 for 15. Carlos Correa didn't do anything. Hit low 200s. That was the World Series. And even the Nats players who aren't great Howie Kendrick or Trey Turner,

they were special when called upon in clutch situations. Now Will Harris deals with Kendrick. That's down the right field line into the corner. This ball is gone for a home run. Nationals on top has made it 3-2. There's your series. All the Nat stars were great, and even the guys that aren't great players. Kendrick played for the Angels for a year.

Very good player, very situational, were great when they had to be. Here's some numbers for you. The Astros at home were four for 28 with runners in scoring position. That's at home. That's where they were unbeatable in recent years. The Nationals hit 10 home runs on the road, a World Series record. We always want to boil this down to a pitching move by a manager. Folks, do you understand in baseball in 2019, managers don't make as much as a Boise State football coach.

We've taken the power out of managers. The Boise State football coach makes double the Yankees manager. I'm not joking. It may be triple because football is the coaching sport. Baseball, we ask an A.J. Hinch to occasionally six, seventh inning. What do you think about your pitcher? He's a little off. This wasn't about a move in the seventh inning.

It was about the Astros at home could never hit after the seventh inning. The Nationals won it. Houston didn't lose it. And here's your final moment. Here they are. One strike away, one out away. Three, two. Where it is?

The Washington Nationals are world champions for the first time in franchise history. I thought it was an incredibly great baseball game, all sorts of tension. And the better team won because their better players were much. money when it mattered. It's not about a pitching move in the seventh. Houston couldn't hit it home. The Nats were monsters on the road. Good stuff. Congrats. DC deserves it. Considering the Redskins season and the Wizards misery, the Mystics and the Nationals have made it with all that political strife the last several years. And the Virginia area, Virginia Cavaliers. There you go. There you go. Some nice stuff. Virginia Cavaliers, the Washington Mystics, the Nationals. See DC. It's not all tumult. It's not all yelling and screaming. You've had a nice year in D.C. And the capitals?

There we go, the capitals. It's almost getting greedy. All right, let's shift to this. So Kevin Durant is not playing this year. He's a star, right? And we know, you know, he likes to talk. Okay. And he should, by the way, for his brand. I mean, if LeBron James is out, is he not going to talk? You know, Michael Jordan broke a leg once you can talk. I like my stars, even when they're out to talk a little. KD this morning went and talked to Stephen A. Smith. And Stephen A. Smith asked him about his Draymond Green was one of the reasons

K.D. left the Warriors. Here's what he said. A little bit, yeah, for sure. I mean, your teammate talked to you that way. You think about it a bit. But, you know, like I said, we talked about it. But definitely, for sure. I'm not going to lie about it. Well, what do you know? It was November 12th. It was a very close game. Kevin Durant wanted the ball. Dremont

didn't get it to him. They argued in the huddle, outside of the huddle. It carried on it to the locker room. At one point, Dremon made it personal with a slur. Dramon also said, we won here without you. It was very personal.

And I said, it doesn't matter if it's your wife. It doesn't matter if it's a coworker. It doesn't matter if it's a teammate. There are lines you cannot cross. And Kevin Durant admitting today, yeah, that was part of the reason I left. And the NBA media, and I understand why they're like this, the NBA media has to be pro player and especially pro star.

Why? Because you lose access. Everybody wanted to get the KD scoop net last year. Everybody wants to get the scoops where Kauai is going, where Paul George is going, where Westbrook's going. So the NBA media has to be pretty pro player. If you get a reputation as your anti-star anti-player, these star players, they'll just cut you out. You won't have any access.

And everybody kept saying Katie's good with Draymond. They talked. It's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Go back, Google what Draymond Green called Kevin Durant. Guys don't forget that. Can't speak for women. Guys do not. We can be petty.

And a lot of times, guys compartmentalize things. You can read books about this, about how, guys can argue with another guy, but if there's money on the table, you and I will do business together and I'll all, I'll forgive you, and we can play together, and we can do business together, but I don't, I'm not going to forget what you said. And Kevin Durant admitting, yeah, Draymond was one of the reasons I left. So, and by the way, I love the Houston Rockets. but we're not trading Chris Paul. There is no chance.

And everybody bought into it. Remember, this is a star-driven league. And in order to have access to the stars, the media often apologizes, dismisses, buys into denials that are simply not true. I don't cover the NBA. I'm not in the locker room every day. I thought Chris Paul was going to get traded, said then it was smoke fire,

and I never bought that Katie and Dremont were good and tight and boys, and don't worry about it. We got past it. Bologna. There are things guys you can say to your wife, you just don't, and don't even push it. And there's things you can say to a coworker, don't. And there's things you say at the YMCA or in an NBA locker room playing basketball to a guy, you don't go personal.

Draymond, who's not nearly as sensitive as KD. Katie's a sensitive cat. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that at all. Aaron Rogers, Katie, a little more sensitive to media stuff. KD's sensitive. Draymond crossed the line. And he admits it today.

Yeah. Yeah, that was one of the reasons I left. There you go. Be careful what you say. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending. opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. 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 question, questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice 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 Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my

own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm Talked. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

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

levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker. 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 of 42. Hey, rep, my mama wants you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on the Army Store of the chip. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic.

I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals.

The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. So yesterday's story broke last hour. Baker Mayfield got into a argument, a little scuffle with a Cleveland reporter. He doesn't like Tony Grossie. So apparently there is a reporter Baker Mayfield likes less than me.

Because when he was on my show, we mostly got along. and I still think he's mostly a decent quarterback, the overrated, mistake-prone, and way too cocky. But he got into this argument. There's some backstories. He said this. They said that. I don't think this is how a franchise quarterback should worry.

When the season is on the line, you should be looking through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror last week, and arguing with reporters and it having it blow up as a national story. But here was Baker-Baker-interception maker yesterday. Penalty happened. It's like the clock's not running. I don't know.

Stop saying, but I just told you the clock was running and we had a penalty. Do you want to give them the ball back? No, you don't play. You don't know it. That's just plain and simple. Was I happy with the drive? No, we didn't score points. It's the dumbest question you could ask.

What? Okay, he's a child. But let's make two things clear. Number one, Baker has had an absolutely disastrous season. His completion percentage is 57%. That is absolutely embarrassing. He leads the NFL in pick. his passer rating is in the 60s.

He has been this year more of a bust than a number one pick. He's looked terrible. He looks small. His accuracy has gone downhill. The Seattle game was an eye-opener. Bad throws, late on everything. More commercials than touchdown passes. He has been an abject disaster.

I have been right, and it is a great feeling. But let's be honest about it. Baker Mayfield now is going to win a bunch of games, as I predicted. I'll stand by my initial prediction. Cleveland is going to go nine and seven. I didn't buy into the hype. Freddie Kitchens, I talked to an NFL assistant coach yesterday, is making it up as he goes.

They're one of the worst teams situationally. Lead the NFL and penalties. They are not capable of winning a playoff game against an elite coach and elite team. But I'll stand by nine and seven. And here's the good news for Baker Mayfield. Starting this weekend, he's going to face a backup quarterback and Cleveland is going to roll. Look at the Brown schedule. I'll make my prediction.

They beat Denver, Pittsburgh, Miami, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Arizona, and Cincinnati. Guess what that turns out to be? Nine and seven. I don't know how I feel about Buffalo and Baltimore. They get both at home, but both have excellent defenses and Baker can be mistake prone. But they face six backup quarterbacks in nine games and the other three quarterbacks they face are Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson, kids prone to mistakes. Defensive front for Cleveland makes life tough for quarterbacks. It made it tough for Russell Wilson. It made it tough for Jared Gough.

It made it tough at times for Tom Brady. Cleveland's defensive front is going to win a bunch of games against a bunch of backup quarterbacks named Mason Rudolph and whoever's starting for Cincinnati in Miami and a bunch of guys named Josh Allen. In fact, here's the other good news. Baltimore schedule, when I predicted they'd be eight and eight, I don't stand by that, but it's going to be close to that. Baltimore schedule gets increasingly tougher. They face New England, Houston, at the Rams, San Francisco, at Buffalo, at Cleveland.

So Cleveland's defensive front is going to dominate several months of football against backups and young quarterbacks. Cleveland's going to come up and go nine and seven. Baltimore, a better football team overall, more mature. better coached, better team. They're going to lose some close games because they face guys like Sean McVey, Deshawn Watson, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Jimmy Garapolo, Kyle Shanahan.

All right. So, and I'll tell you what I think, November 10th, 10 days from today, Cleveland hosts Buffalo. If Cleveland wins that game in 10 days, they're going to be, I believe. a wild card team. You think I'm crazy on this.

But if they beat Buffalo, I'm not sure if they are. I want to see them play against Denver. I think they'll win in a route. And I do think Buffalo was good early, but has hit us ceiling offensively. In 10 days, because Cleveland's going to blow out Denver. It's one of my blazing five picks, I'll tell you right now. Cleveland's going to win big over Denver. When they go home against Buffalo, if they can win that game, you start looking at the schedule,

nine and seven potentially is 10 and 6. So I may bash Baker and love Lamar Jackson. but the seasons are going to turn. Now, how dramatically will Baltimore's turn? I'm not as sure as I am in Cleveland's turning positive. So they'll start winning games. Baker won't have, they get Kareem Hunt and they have Nick Chubb. They'll become a running team.

They'll be more conservative. Cleveland's defensive front will dominate backup quarterbacks, and the Browns will start rolling. And then Baker's in a better mood. The media won't be assaulting him with all this verbal nonsense. he says and they say. And so the good news, Baker, this is the low point of the season for Baker Mayfield. I believe for the next eight, nine weeks, it's going to be more positive.

There's going to be more wins. There's going to be less jarring. Guys like me will run out of ammo. There just won't be much to say as they reel off a bunch of Ws. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. As Joy told you, Stefan Curry, Steph Curry, was hurt last night, broken wrist out. He's out to the All-Star game minimum. They may not bring him back until like March April.

I'm not sure what they're going to do, but the season's over. The Warriors have gone from a dynasty to the Miami Dolphins in about a month. In Golden State's last six games, dating back to last year, KD left and got hurt, Clay got hurt, Steph got hurt. The Western Conference just got one team easier. But there's actually, strangely, a great silver lining. here. There is a great silver lining. Now the Warriors can showcase DeAngelo Russell statistically. Go score points. Now, Steph Curry, be fresh for next year. Now there's no rush to bring Clay Thompson

back. Now you can check out all your young players. This is actually great. Instead of getting stuck in the middle, didn't I say, I think they'd be like the fifth seed in the West. That's purgatory in this league. When I used to cover the Portland Trailblazers, they were never talked six, never bought them 10. They were always drafting 13th, 15th, 14th, 16th, and you can't get the guy. Now the Warriors, essentially, because the West is so deep,

can tank without trying to tank. They can play their young guys, Draymond DeAngelo Russell, don't have to rush Steph or Clayback. Katie's gone, see your young guys, and get a lottery pick. Bob Myers is one of the sharpest personnel guys in the NBA. They would never have gotten this pick without it. They would have ended up like an eighth or a ninth seed in the West. They would have been drafting 14th or 15th. And the NBA historically sort of runs out of stars after pick nine. There's the occasional Draymond Green in the

second round, but he averaged seven points in the regular season. Let's not make him into a superstar. Yes, there's a Tony Parker here, a man who Genobley there, the Spurs have a great international scouting system. But the reality of the NBA is most of your stars with a hands. handful of exceptions. You know, they're in the top 10 picks. That's generally how it works. And now the Warriors will get a top 10 lottery pick. They were stuck in the middle.

They're no longer stuck in the middle. And this is a great place for the Warriors because now they'll get a lottery pick. Next year they're going to have Steph, Clay, Kvon Looney, whatever they get for the DeAngelo Russell situation. My guess is they trade him at the deadline and they get a bench guy and a starter somewhere. They need depth, and then they get a lottery pick. And in their system, young guys tend to be okay. They can play.

So I think it's actually a silver lining thing. They'll get a lottery pick for a front office that knows what the heck they're doing, and a lot of front offices don't, so I think they're in a really, really good spot. I will say this. Let me say one thing about the NBA right now. So Steph, Clay, KD. Zion, John Wall, and Paul George are all hurt. and that's okay because the NFL ratings have been fine with lots of injuries to quarterbacks.

Eleven backups have played. The problem with the NBA right now, you've got something beyond Steph Clay, KD. Zion, John Wall, and Paul George being hurt. You have a new culture that's accepted because Adam Silver tends to be, in my opinion, pro player to a fault, load management. So I want you to say this out loud. The NBA is a star-driven league. stars are hurt and stars are sitting

and yesterday one of the broadcast partners for the NBA a place I used to work got pissed in the NFL which is not beholden to players Andrew Luck retired Big Ben got hurt so did Drew Breeze so did Cam Newton Eli Manning was benched Nick Foles Sam Darnold gets mono

ratings up on every network why because the NFL is not beholden to the individual star. I'm not saying David Stern made a mistake when he said, we're going to put the name on the back of the jersey and make it as big or bigger than the name on the front of the jersey. I love the NBA and I love it stars.

But the NBA's ratings have always fluctuated wildly based on the popularity of their top players. Magic Bird Likeable ratings huge. Barkley, Michael Jordan, ratings huge. They retire Alan Iverson Marbury. Ratings go into the tank. Spurs Dynasty boring. Ratings go into the tank.

LeBron Cleveland teams the first time. Boring, ratings go into the tank. Adam Silver has built, taken the baton from David Stern. And he has gone even to a higher degree, very pro player. And players now are telling consumers, regular season doesn't matter. Adam Silver took away back to backs. He gave him a longer break for the All-Star game. And NBA players now stars in a star-driven league.

Take Saturday night off for a TV game. What? Excuse me? What you're telling the fans? Regular season doesn't matter. That's the problem with college basketball. That's the problem with baseball. that's never a problem in the NFL.

I'm not saying you don't treat players with respect. But, you know, it's like Kent, kids. I give them an inch. They take a mile. All these injuries plus load management in a star-driven league means I'm not getting my stars. I'm not watching for parity. I'm not getting my stars. I want my stars.

And if I pay $340 to take my two kids and my wife to a Milwaukee Bucks game on a Saturday night, I'm not doing it for the guy off the bench. I want Janus. I want Kauai. So I think all these injuries, Steph, another one, on KD, on Clay, on John Wall, ah, Paw George, on Zion, and load management. Adam Silver needs to tighten it up. Some fines, some calls.

Come on, tighten it up. Fans deserve stars because you market yourself as a star-driven league. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, 7-8. a week within the IHeart radio app. Search her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. With that, he's worked 40 years at NFL

films, a guy I rely on all the time during the season and the off season. He comes on every Thursday. We call it our NFL meat sandwich. Let's bring in Greg Kosell. So let's start with the team I like and the team you don't. The Philadelphia Eagles.

And I thought, Greg, I thought they found their identity a little bit last week. Greg, which is run the ball, maybe weather forced them to do this, run the ball, play action passes to their big tight ends. This is kind of what I think their offense is. Was there, you didn't like them last week. Was there anything about Philly that altered your mind or changed your opinion? Well, it's not about not liking them last week, Colin. I think they're limited talent-wise. And I think the way they played last week, whether it was weather or whether

they felt that was the right way to play based on their talent level is the way that they have to play. They have to run the ball. I think that has to be the foundation. The question is, can they do that every week? Jordan Howard's history suggests he can be that kind of player. And certainly Miles Sanders adds somewhat of an explosive element. Now, theoretically, they're supposed to get to Sean Jackson back.

We'll see what that does for their offense. Yeah. The problem, or not the problem, the only issue with that is your defense has to play well. Now, it did last week, whether that was a function of weather conditions, whether it was a function of playing her team with a young quarterback that's up and down. We'll see as we progress. But I think this is the way they would have to play to be successful in this given season. You know, we're not in 2017 or 2016 or 2018. This is 2019.

They're not an overly talented team. Fair enough. Let's talk to Cowboys. They got into the mix for Jamal Adams. Jamal's a terrific player. I've often said about Jamal Adams. When you watch a game on television, you see everybody but the safeties during the snap. Jamal Adams ends up on the play defensively. It feels like half the time for the Jets. But when you watch the Cowboys defense on film, did they need Jamal Adams? Would he have added value to you? Well, the Cowboys are a predominant single high safety defense, which means that their corner unquote strong safety, and it's almost always Jeff Heath. Sometimes it's Xavier Woods playing in the

box, but it's almost always Jeff Heath. He's a box player who then matches up to the tight end in their man-to-man coverage because they play what we call cover one. It's man-free with a single high safety. Jamal Adams is obviously a better player than Jeff Heath. So he would have fit that defense perfectly because their predominant single high safety with the strong safety, which is exactly what Chimal Adams is as a box player and a man-to-man coverage player on the tight end. He's pretty special. Yeah, he's very good around the line of scrimmage. Great feel.

He understands how to shoot gaps, very good blitzers, has a very good neck for timing. You know, a team, it's interesting. So I'm watching the Rams this weekend. And boy, they've got Josh Reynolds, Brandon Cooks, Robert Woods, Cooper Cup, Gerald Everett. Five nice weapons. They're getting healthier on the offensive line. It seems like they got what they wanted out of

Indomacan Su, Marcus Peters, Akeb to leave. They now have an elite safety. Watching them last week, I still don't think they're great up front on the Interior O line. But it did feel like they're now 10 and O against the AFC. It did feel like, Greg,

they righted the ship a little bit offensively and have found their way. Did you see anything? Well, I think at their core, in their past game, they're rhythm-based. And rhythm-based is not just a function of the quarterback. It's a function of routes being defined. So when he plants that back foot, the ball can come out. Everybody just assumes all this is the quarterback. Obviously, he has to have defined throws and somewhere to throw it when he plants his back foot. And I think that they're, that Sean McVease has worked through a lot of this. Don't forget, he's

only a 30-year head coach. I think that they're going. to work a little more toward continuing to use Henderson. I don't want to say he's a feature back the way Gurley was two years ago, but I think he adds an explosive element to the offense that Gurley does not. So I think they're going to work more in that direction, and their offense is starting to look a little bit more like it has. Because Scott at his core, he's a rhythm player. He's not going to make plays outside of structure.

He needs to plant that back foot, and the ball needs to come out. I want to shift to Green Bay. I mean, most of us that watch these football games feel the Saints, San Francisco, New England, boy, they really can make life miserable for you. Green Bay's defense feels different to me, Greg Cosell, 40 years NFL film. It's opportunistic, but it doesn't intimidate. It doesn't overwhelm. But it's good. And there are some playmakers, the Smith Brothers at linebacker.

on film, is that Green Bay defense to you what you would call upper tier or elite, or just opportunistic? Well, I think they have some good players. I think Mike Petten likes to play a lot of sub-defense, meaning five and six defensive backs. I think he likes to play with six defensive backs. I think what he does is very dependent on the opponent. I mean, this past week, for instance, against the Chiefs, he did not blitz very much at all, and he actually played a lot of zone coverage. Some games, they play a lot of man.

I think he felt that their pass rush could beat that O line of the Chiefs, which, by the way, they did much of the game. Matt Moore was under duress a lot in that game. Now, I don't know if he played that way because it was Matt Moore and not Patrick Mahomes. We'll never know that. But I think that Mike Petten likes to play with multiple defensive backs, and I think that normally he likes to bring pressure,

and he likes to match up in this game he chose not to, and ultimately it worked. They won the game. I thought Matt Moore was very efficient with what he was asked to do, but obviously the Packers won the game. A team in their division, Minnesota, Kirk Cousins is so hot and cold. I could boil it down to this. When he plays an average defense, he's pretty good, really good.

When he plays an intense defense in a prime time game, which is a better personnel, better coach, better football team, he's not very good. I mean, there's obviously, you cannot have his completion rate and his successes in the last three or four games. he obviously has some level of skill. Or is this just the Vikings roster has been stacked for three or four years, just like when Case Keenham won 13 games?

So much, Colin, it's a function of the opponent that you play. And that's why last week I talked to you about the fact that these quarterbacks don't change from week to week. Much is the opponent, the matchups, and what they can get done against that specific team. There's really three or four foundations of the Vikings' offense. This is what they do. They have a strong identity. They're a high percentage base personnel offense. Okay, 70% of the time they're in some form of base personnel, meaning they do not have three wide receivers on the field.

Okay? They're a running team. It's predominantly outside zone. That's a foundation. Play action, both straight play action and play action boot getting him out of the pocket. The screen game. These are all pillars of their offense. This is what they want to do every week.

Yeah. The opponent often dictates how successful they're going to be doing these things. So some week's cousins, and over the last three or four weeks, they've been very, very effective and efficient. Cousins did nothing special this past week against the Redskins, but I believe he ended up 23 for 26. So it was just an efficient performance. Is he going to do that every week? No, it depends on the opponent. But this is what they want to get done on a weekly basis, and that's their identity.

The weekend game that interests me the most, Lamar Jackson faces New England's defense. Now, we know that Belichick dominates young quarterbacks, but Lamar's a different young quarterback, and I can look at the history of Belichick. Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Kaepernick have given him issues. When you get players who can be off script, Nick Saban struggled with Johnny Mansell. Nick Saban struggle with Deshaun Watson. These guys are detail-oriented, defensive guys.

They can't plan for what Lamar's going to do. He'll just outrun your defensive end, even if he's in the right spot. What do you expect Baltimore and New England to look like? Yeah, this is something I've been thinking about all week, and hey, Bill Belichick is smarter than I am, so I don't know the answer, but I think that they're going to play their man coverage, okay, because they're not going to feel that Lamar Jackson can beat them throwing the ball. That's what I think they'll do then. So what happens beyond that? Beyond that is they're going to do something to prevent Lamar Jackson from running. Now, when I say prevent, in their mind, I mean, he may still do it because he's a special mover.

But whether it's a spy, whether it's two spies, whatever it is, there's going to be something that in their mind is going to prevent Lamar Jackson from beating them. Because the last thing Bill Belichick wants to walk away from this game is saying, well, we would have won other, except for the fact that Lamar Jackson beat us as a scrambler. Now, their run games very multiple, and a lot of things go on there, they'll probably run for some yards. but I think that it's the scrambling. See, that's what happened in the last Lamar Jackson against Seattle. It was not the design run. Seattle actually did a terrific job against the basic run game of the Ravens. It was the scrambles that killed them.

San Francisco, Arizona tonight, question on each. First of all, I say this, but when I watch a game and a very good player like a tight-end George Kittle for the Niners is regularly open and sometimes wide open, my takeaway is, that's a hell of a play design. I know I look at this Niners offense and I've got a second round quarterback, a fifth round tied end, a third round receiver, an undrafted running back. That tells me there's a lot of coaching going on with this San Francisco offense because I see good players, established good players getting open regularly. What say you when you watch the film on the Niners O? I agree with you.

I think it's a really well-designed offense. I think that Kyle Shanahan, when it comes to the past game in particular, against zoning. coverage is as good as there is in the league because I think he so understands the responsibility of defenders in zone coverage that he knows how to break them down with his concepts. Because all players have responsibilities in zone coverage. You need to know what those responsibilities are. You can't call plays in a vacuum. You have to understand how the defense reacts to certain route concepts.

And then in the run game, I think he's so good at taking basic concepts and presenting them differently, whether it's with jet action, whether it's with a different player coming from somewhere else like Samuel's 20-yard touchdown this past week was a basic run concept, presented totally differently. I think he's so good at those kinds of things, and that's what makes that offense special. When you look at that team overall, Colin, I would say Garoppolo at this point is probably the least critical piece right now. Now, he may become better and better, but I would say,

their run game is the foundation and their defense is dominant. They have the best front six in the NFL. Yeah, isn't that funny? Finally, you know, I watch a lot of this Arizona, Kyler-Murie stuff, and Greg, I'm a football fan. It's different. He's smaller. They run around. I will say Cliff Kingsbury has made some alterations week to week.

I think their schedule gets tougher, but I think they'll off a buy. I think there'll be an interesting test tonight. Let's get an update on what have you seen on Kyler Murray. Yeah, I like what I've seen. You know, I think that they're working through what they can do week to week against given opponents because the NFL is different that way than college where you can do a lot of the same things every week. And it wouldn't surprise me, for instance, tonight, and I'm just throwing this out, I could be dead wrong. They can't match up to this front on offense.

Their offensive line cannot match up. So I don't know. Maybe they'll spread it out. Maybe they'll go with those two wide stacks, try to light in the box, see if they can create some angles for the run game. let a guy like Kenyon Drake, who is explosive, try to create some room, because I don't think they can just line up and play normally. Yeah. All right, good stuff. Greg Kosel, 40 years NFL films, my friend, it's great talking to you.

Thank you so much. Appreciate it, Colin. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody. telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories

behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

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

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free, iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes,

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My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the United States. the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us.

Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos and the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, wherever you get your podcast. Listen, I have lost more Goulet. Can you back me on this? I've lost more games betting college football this year by a point. I can't get a break. You've had some tough losses. I've got a few.

It's outrageous. But no excuses, Joy. That is not what I'm about. We're about accountability. No excuses. Play like a champion. That's right. And it's a crappy week of college football.

There's about four games. And luckily, I have strong feelings on all of them. Here, all of our odds provided by Fox Bet. Here are my college football picks of the week. 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, Georgia at Florida. I'm going to take the points.

the number here. Florida plus six and a half. We just don't know what, we don't know what Georgia is. Now the Notre Dame wind doesn't look like anything because Notre Dame got their ears boxed by Michigan. What is Georgia? They can't throw the ball down the field. I love their athletes and I like their coach. They've got more good players in this game. But Jake Fromm, the quarterback, has dropped off last two weeks. He's giving you 160 yards passing the game, one touchdown, three picks. They have no deep threat. Florida, frankly, is really well-cold. They won 11 to 12. They have the best defense in the SEC and two starters come back off injury.

I think Florida, though, is still a year away. Their defense is fantastic. Their coach is great. But I think Georgia's got better players. But I'm betting a number here. I'm going to take the six and a half points. Georgia wins 24, 23 low scoring. But the number's too tasty.

I'll take the Gators in the six and a half. Utah and Washington. This is an easy one. Washington's dominated this. series. They're at home, off a buy, off a loss, take the three, Washington. Listen, Utah is a very good team, but they only throw on 36% of their play so they can be predictable. Chris Peterson's a great coach. Do you know what he is off his last 18 buys? 18 and 0 straight up. Great coaches are great off buys. Do you know what Chris Peterson is after his last nine losses at Washington,

9 and 0. That's 27 and 0. This is a team that is a year away, Washington. They lost 10 guys to the NFL. They have to rebuild. They're not a reload program like an Ohio state or a Bama or an LSU or in Oklahoma. Washington off a buy at home, off a loss, upsets Utah that can be pretty predictable on offense, 24 to 23. Oregon and USC.

This is an easy one. Take USC in the four and a half. You know, USC is going to replace their coach, I would imagine, at the end of the year. But it's not like Clay Hilton that's been man overboard. They don't beat great teams. But Oregon's not a great team, and USC's at home where they're very good getting four and a half. Oregon hasn't beat a ranked team this year. Gotting close a couple times, but they haven't beat them.

Oregon's been lucky. They have survived the last two weeks against Washington and Washington State. The Ducks defense has dropped off dramatically, and USC is just a different. team at the Coliseum. They're 23 and 3 in their last 26 home games. And in their last nine home games against ranked teams, they're actually pretty good, eight and one. And the one thing USC does, they can throw it down the field. Oregon is susceptible to that. USC, Michael Pittman, very good deep receivers. And USC gets after the quarterback. So Justin Herbert will be rushed. And I think when they go on the road, Oregon makes mistakes. I think USC gets the

upset. This will be a wild high-scoring game. Neither has a great defense, though USC does get to the quarterback. Trojans win 33 to 30. So I like the underdog gators in the points, underdog Washington at home, underdog USC. It's a dog weekend. I'm taking upsets and near upsets in college football. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 SportsSlic. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and 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

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We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th.

And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne.

Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast.

We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get it? hard seltzer instead of beer. They hit a bogo. Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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