The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 11/29/2018

Episode Date: November 29, 2018

Colin thinks the worst case scenario for the Cowboys could be beating the Saints and explains why. He discusses why he is now not the only one being critical of Aaron Rodgers in the media. Plus, Greg Cosell of NFL Films talks about why the Saints offense is so good and why he thinks Baker Mayfield will be a long term success in the NFL. Presented by Perky Jerky Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. Ah, this is the herd. Cowboys Saints tonight, wherever you may be and however you're may be listening. Live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me, Cowboys host of Saints tonight. Good morning.

That was the biggest night of his life. I'll explain this in a second. Okay, I'm curious. Yes. I want to talk about today, Joy, and Greg CoSell one hour from now, which is the most objective, film-driven 50 minutes of football on TV or radio anywhere in America. You just get smarter whether you play fantasy, you bet it or just love football in one hour, Greg CoSell. The power of one.

I want to talk about this for a minute. The power of one. You can live a life, be a solid citizen. But one moment, one play, one line can change everything. Al Michaels was a very good sportscaster. Do you believe in miracles? yes, changed everything. Dwight Clark, the late great Dwight Clark, was an excellent receiver.

The catch changed everything. Sylvester Stallone had $300 in his pocket, but he had the script, Rocky. For 20 years, one of the richest guys in Hollywood. One moment, one play can change everything from at the time good to ordinary people. Dak Prescott wins tonight. He's going to get $28 to $30 million from the Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, that's not good. The six highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL right now do not lead their division.

They don't. You can't win that way. Breeze, Brady, Ben, taking pay cuts. The other five division leaders are teams with quarterbacks on rookie deals. But he's going to get 28 to 30 if he won. tonight. Because let's pretend I'm Dak Prescott's agent. I've already got this in my favor. 13 and 3 is a rookie. Tony Romo got hurt. We saved the franchise. Jerry, that's worth something. I already got that. The franchise was dead. My guy saved your franchise. That's got to be worth

$100 million, Jerry. I already got that and Jerry knows it's true. Jerry can't argue that. Franchise. Back saved it. I can also say this. My quarterback never had a losing season. Drew Brees can't say that. My guy's never had a losing season. It's the truth. The agent can also say, if Jack wins tonight, another division title within our sights.

Jerry's like three years, two division titles. Here's the other. If he beats the MVP tonight, Drew Brees, do you realize if Dak wins tonight, over the last three seasons, he will be the third winning as quarterback in the league. Brady, Ben, and Dak. He will break the tie with Drew Breeze tonight. This is not only a big night for the Dallas Cowboys,

this is a big night for Dak and his agent. We know he's the future of the Cowboys, right? We know that. Everybody knows that. We know he's the future. Jerry keeps saying, he's our guy. If he wins tonight, he's going to be our guy making $28 million a year. and you do not want DAC, who by most account statistically,

is about somewhere between the 18th and 22nd best quarterback in the NFL, you don't want him making Kirk Cousins money. But he's going to have the leverage. The power of one. Joe Flackle won a Super Bowl. They were trapped. They had to overpay him. Now, that's a Super Bowl.

But let me remind you of two quarterbacks who are not as talented as Dak. Ryan Fitzpatrick had a 370-yard passing game to beat New England, and they gave him $59 million in Buffalo. They felt trapped. Ryan Fitzpatrick is not as good in my opinion as Dak Prescott. Matt Flynn had a six-touchdown game, a career backup, and the Seattle Seahawks, 20 million bucks. They're not as talented as Dak.

They're not winning division titles like Dak. They're not guys who are 13 and 3 as rookies. Dak beats Breeze tonight. The power of one. One catch, one call, one moment, one game, one win. I've seen lesser quarterbacks get it. The leverage is going to be if Dak wins tonight over Drew Breeze, then next week when Dak Prescott plays for our TV audience,

he should switch helmets. And he should go out and just have that in his helmet, a dollar sign. Because he's going to get whatever he wants. he's going to have all these arguments and the final one's going to be you kidding me my client went toe to toe with drew breed Jared golf couldn't beat him that's all right joe flacco couldn't beat him I know what the my guy beat him huge the power of one huge night for dack the cowboys their future tonight let me shift to this speaking of quarterbacks There are three quarterbacks in this league, NFL, very talented, varying levels of talent,

but they're all either going to be Hall of Famers or going to get in the discussion. Cam Newton, Big Ben and Aaron Rogers, they're dramatic. And the people who love Big Ben, Cam and Aaron Rogers always defend them. Well, that's a coach's fault. It's a running back's fault. It's organization's fault. It's a GM's fault. And by the way, they're all very, very good.

but they're all really, really, really dramatic. And stories tend to linger with them. You know, you have a little story. Eight days later, I'm forced to keep talking about the story. Quarterback should be fire extinguishers, not gasoline. So Big Ben threw a pick Sunday. It's Thursday. And he's still talking about it, forcing me to talk about it.

here he was yesterday about the criticism of teammates on the interception. I think that I've earned the right to be able to do that with as long as I've been here. And I'll be just a critical on myself as well in front of you guys as well. Being around for a long time dealing with a lot of different players. You have to know how to motivate different guys in different ways. And I think that's part of being a leader, being a captain, just understanding players. And so sometimes you just grab them off to the side. And sometimes you have to be honest with them.

Why are we still talking about this interception? It's Thursday. Can we stop talking about this interception? Ben, you're too dramatic. Cam, you're too dramatic. Aaron, Rogers, you're too dramatic. Stuff lingers. Now, you know how I feel about quarterbacks.

I have my four favorite in the NFL. I call them the bore four. Nothing lingers. Stories die. Luck, Brady, Breeze, Russell Wilson. They take a bullet. It's on me. Potential stories end.

Football is really hard. Football is so hard that even football practice is hard. Baseball practice isn't hard. Basketball practice isn't hard. Football practice isn't hard. So I like my quarterbacks to be fire extinguishers, not gasoline. Extinguish things. That's why my favorite four guys in the league, I call them the bore four,

are Brady, Breeze, Russell Wilson, and luck. But just think about if you don't think noise is a big deal. Football is hard enough. Distractions make it harder. So I like quarterbacks who are quiet and end stories. Let me give you, in my opinion, the six noisiest teams in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers, or the noisiest team in the NFL. Would it be fair to say, Joy, you're from Pittsburgh.

They have underachieved over the last five years as they've gotten noisier. Only because the expectations in Pittsburgh are championships. Because they have Pro Bowls. Yeah, they got Hall of Famers everyone on the roster. Yes. So they have underachieved. That's the noisiest team in the league. Here's the second noisiest team,

although they are getting quieter this year, the Seattle Seahawks. Politics. ESPN, the magazine articles, Rip and Russell Wilson, Kumbai, Yastar. Seattle Seahawks Dynasty blew up. By the way, they're getting very quiet this year.

They're playing well. Third, noisiest team, Philadelphia, dog masks, politics. Big talkers. Having the worst year ever for a Super Bowl champ. Jacksonville. My bad. Saxonville.

I mean, didn't we think this window is going to be like eight, nine, ten years? It's over. They're an absolute disaster. The fifth noisiest team, and for the record, when they were winning Super Bowls, they had stars, not a peep. The New York Giants. New York Giants have become incredibly noisy. controversies, receivers and wedding, kicking nets, wedding proposals, controversies.

New York Giants used to be quiet and win. Now they're noisy and lose. And the sixth noisiest team in the league, in my opinion, is Green Bay. I mean, good God, there's another story out today about Aaron Rogers. There's a story after story after story. Six noisiest teams in the league. For the record, some of the most talented. Pittsburgh, Seattle, Philadelphia, Jacksonville Giants Packers, all are underachieving.

Seattle just got quiet in the last few months, having a good year. Let me tell you who's quiet in the NFL. These teams have stars. They're never in the news. The L.A. Rams. The Kansas City Chiefs. The New Orleans Saints. The Indianapolis Colts.

And now that football started, the New England. Patriots. Football's hard. Football practice is hard. Noise makes it harder. And for the record, as much as I like Big Ben, he is part of this. Lavian Bell was a big component to the noise. Levian Bell left, and they're still noisy. They're still noisy. That's on Ben. Think about the six noisiest teams in this league. They got some of the best players. And then think about the six quietest teams, good quiet teams. I never hear saints stories. I don't hear chief stories. I don't hear Ram stories. Like my quarterbacks, take a bullet on me. Bring it down. Jason Whitlock on Speak for yourself this week said he's just

ripping his teammates on the interception. It made him sick. I've earned the right after I throw the interception that costs us the game. I've earned the right to call out my teammates. This is the head coach's job. He just threw an interception to a defensive tackle on the goal line when the wide receivers covered. And afterward, oh, it was the flukest play, luckiest thing that ever happened. He didn't take any ownership or accountability for that.

I've defended Big Ben. But if I'm going to be critical of Aaron Rogers for the drama and I'm going to be critical at Cam Newton for the drama, I've got to be critical. fair and critical of Big Ben. It's Thursday. And this story, this pick, is lingering for a fourth day.

Levy and Bell's gone, dude. That's on you. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Okay, here's a story that came out. Oh, oh. In fact, it's interesting. Two big stars in the NBA. Same story came out.

Scouts report that LeBron's been ignoring Lut Walton's play calls. Oh, oh. Also this morning, this story breaks. Russell Westbrook has no interest in Billy Donovan's play calls. I swear to God, they both broke this morning. Now, LeBron, I trust him. He has a history of elevating teammates. Westbrook, I don't trust. Players get better when they leave him.

But I don't want to talk about Westbrook. I want to talk about LeBron. Not against Westbrook. He's great. But I want to talk about LeBron here. There are three separate times now I've seen this with LeBron. You didn't see it initially in Cleveland that he would ignore the coach. But I saw it in Miami for the first year and a half. He did not listen to Spolstra, a young inexperienced coach.

Then he won the title in Miami. And he was easier to coach. Then he went to Cleveland, David Blatt, inexperienced NBA coach. He didn't listen to David Platt. Then he won a title. in Cleveland. And then he became easier to coach. And now he's with the Lakers,

third inexperience, and young coach, and he's not listening to Luke Walton. Now, in the first two instances, he becomes very difficult to coach when he moves to a new city and he knows the spotlight in sports is on him.

In Miami, pressure, got to win, de Wade, Bosch, LeBron. He was really tough to coach those first couple years. Then he won the title, and we never heard about, he's difficult to coach. He left Miami, but it was more about Pat Riley than Spolstra. Then he goes to Cleveland, and he's very difficult on David Blatt to coach. When's the title? He and Ty Lou are boys.

He didn't leave Cleveland because of Tyloo. He left because of Dan Gilbert. And here we go for the third time. In Los Angeles, a lot of pressure. But the question remains. If he doesn't win a title in Los Angeles and they are not going to win with this roster. And the people they want, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Clay Thompson, they're not available for a minimum of one year, right?

Who loses here? Luke Walton. Remember, LeBron's going to get a pass for this year because he's the new guy. and magic's going to get a pass this year because he got LeBron here. Luke Walton gets no pass. So I have seen this LeBron for the third time. Didn't see it initially in Cleveland. But once he went to Miami and knew the world was watching,

increased pressure under a microscope, brutal to coach, won a title, he's the easier to coach LeBron, left because O'Reilly. not supposed to. Goes to Cleveland. Brutle to coach. That a winning record. David Black, get him out of here. Tie comes in, wins.

Leaves town, but not because the tie still loves Ty. Leaves because of Gilbert. Now he moves to Los Angeles, and according to this quote, when James is running the point, he doesn't look toward the bench to take calls from Luke. Even when he's seen them, ignores him, runs the plays he wants.

Luke is adjusted and now James is running the show. Walton will typically just let LeBron call the game. It's LeBron James. being LeBron James. And to that, I would say, yes, but it is heightened when he moves to a new city and he's under the microscope. Now, if he wins a title in Los Angeles, I'm arguing here, he lightens up. Third place, won a title, legacy set.

There'll be increased conversation of greatest ever. But until that time, the guy in the crosshairs, Luke Walton, Spolstra would have been fired, but he won a title. David Blatt was fired. Tyron Luke came in. This is problematic for Luke Walton because they're not close to winning a title. I don't think they're bad.

I think they're kind of good. I think they'll get to 50 wins. But they need another piece and those pieces are all year out. Except, of course, the one piece I like Bradley Beale, but nobody wants that move. 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. Speaking of drama, We're talking about Baker and Big Ben and, you know, let's talk about Aaron Rogers here. So yesterday, people are starting to now, you know, for years and years, Joy is new on the show, right? But for years and years at the old place and at FS1 and Fox Sports, I've been the one national voice that has been critical of Aaron Rogers. He didn't like me.

He's told people he didn't like me. That's okay. The guy's still great, right? But I'm driving into work now. I've been driving into work for the last four days and for the first time in a decade. I'm hearing this. You know, by radio hosts, by TV hosts, first time in a decade.

I've been on this for five years. Got a lot of heat for it. First time in a decade this week, four days. Heard it again this morning. Isn't some of this Aaron Rogers' fault? You know, well, why does everybody else get blamed? it's turning. The narrative is turning.

By the way, this is what you did with Westbrook forever. I get no pushback on Westbrook anymore. People have come to realize Westbrook's hard to play with. Coaches, stars, teammates, Victor Oladipo got better, Durant got better, Hardin got better. I don't get any pushback on Westbrook anymore. People have said, by the way,

I don't get a lot of pushback on Aaron Rogers. In the last two weeks, I don't get a lot of pushback. People are like, he's difficult. So yesterday, there was an article written about him, and the article says the Packers' quarterbacks completed only 62% of his passes, which rank as the second lowest of his career.

He's missed his target on 21% of his attempts, which is above the NFL average. He is missing throws he usually makes. Now, people are saying his mechanics are bad. Here's what Aaron Rogers said to that. I don't think I need to respond about fundamentals. I mean, I drill the fundamentals. I throw how I throw.

I played. You know, I'm not playing any different this year. Just we're not completing as many passes, percentage wise. I listen to my quarterback coach and my offense coordinator and my head coach. I study myself, you know, I'm very critical of my own film. And I'm not playing indifferently fundamentalized. So you can't have it both ways. You can't love it when it's a certain way and then critique it when it's the other way.

Well, we can actually. but here's the thing. What is Aaron Rogers right now? Tom Brady's the goat. Drew Brees is going to be the MVP. Patrick Mahomes is the next big thing. And Andrew Lux's absolutely the comeback player of the year. Last eight stories on Aaron Rogers?

Negative. Coach, Aaron, Aaron, coach, GM, Ty Montgomery. What is he? He's not the next big thing. He's no longer the goat. He is not the MVP. He's not the comeback player of the year. He's not Big Ben leading a unbelievably gifted offense to potentially a number one seat.

What is he? What he is now is expensive, difficult with a great arm. Do you realize since that dazzling throw to Jared Cook to beat the Dallas Cowboys? Remember that play amazing? It was. All hail Caesar. Since this remarkable play that resulted in a win, Green Bay, is 11, 16, and 1.

That's it. They're 11, 16, and 1, and 3 and 12 on the road. With the mind is 90 point differential. Now, I want you to think about this. If I said to you, Great arm, but doesn't win enough, questionable mechanics, that's Matt Stafford.

Today, this morning, this year, Aaron Rogers is closer to Matt Stafford than Drew Breeze. And forget Tom Brady. The trophy case is too large. He's 11, 16 and 1 since that, the Packers are. They're 3 and 12 in the road and a minus 90 point differential. And for the first time, and I've been doing this for 30 years, the last 10, for the first time this week, I turn on the radio and the golden boy, the gifted one.

The narrative is changing. Goat? No. MVP? No. Next great. thing, no. Difficult, expensive, with a really great arm. That's what it's becoming. Some of it's on him. Westbrook, a lot of it's on him. Doesn't happen to all NBA players. Keeps happening to Westbrook. People get better when they leave him. Keeps happening to Aaron Rogers. Brothers calling him out. Teammates calling him out. McCarthy telling people close to him, calling him out. 11, 16 and 1 is what Green Bay is since that dazzling play.

That's it. 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. Greg Kosell, 30 plus years NFL films. Let's talk about the other Texas team for a second. They just played on Monday night, the Houston Texans. DeShon Watson, a little bit of an enigma, Greg, coming out of college. I liked him.

But, you know, he made Clemson a good program better. He's now in an eight-game winning streak, and this has been a good roster for years. He's clearly taken the roster to a different spot. What does the film say on Deshawn Watson? What's he doing better this year? Well, I think, first of all, you have to look at the way they've chosen to play over the last six games. He has not had more than 25 pass attempts, Colin, in any of the last six games. They've dialed back his dropbacks, which is smart.

of all, their offensive line is below average. That's clear on tape. Secondly, Watson is still developing as a refined pocket quarterback. He's not at the point in his career where he can help camouflage and compensate for all-line issues. So you need to dial back his dropbacks, and that's what they've done. And they've run the ball more and well, and they're playing to their defense. Now, Watson still has the ability, obviously, to make improvisational second reaction plays,

and I think he's a good throw over the football. But I think they understand that given where their O line is and given where he is and his development, that they needed to cut down the number of times he dropped back. Yeah, I find him really interesting to watch. I think he's fun. I think he's cagey. And to your point, he's a good thrower of the football when he's got guys open. He hits him.

But he is a developing quarterback. And to your point, the Texans see him as a developing quarterback. Now, here's a guy who's more developed, Andrew Luck, was great. and then gets beat up, and we don't know what we're getting this year. I love the Colts. They're very tight-end-centric. I think just what my eyes tell me, he may be not the most accurate thrower of the football. He'll lead guys too much.

He'll overthrow guys. He's not the most accurate guy like Drew Breeze. But I've got to tell you, he's a tour de force of everything, the pre-snap. I just watch this guy, Greg, and I think he's incredible. And I've been saying this for eight years. Anything on tape jump this year? Oh, well, I've always thought Andrew Luck was a really good player, and, you know, beginning with when he came out.

But I think you just have to look really at the time touchdown he threw this past week, Colin. I mean, that was a big-time throw, and it speaks to one thing that I've always believed in when you evaluate quarterbacks. I think at the NFL level, you need to be aggressive as a passer. Now, there's always a balance, obviously game situations dictate nature of throws, but I think if you're going to reach the highest level, and that's what we're talking about, then I think there are just times when you need to really turn it loose and be aggressive. And I think that touchdown he threw to Ebron for 12 yards that tied it up late in that game. It's a great example of that.

That was a really difficult red zone throw. And you've got to make those kinds of throws in the NFL. And I think he's always had that in his DNA. It's the reason every once in a while he'll throw some picks. but I think that as you gain more experience, I think you work through that. I think that's really in a quarterback's DNA. It's sort of inherent. It's very difficult to say to guys, hey, you've got to turn it loose.

And I think that's one trait that he's always had. Lamar Jackson's better than I thought. The question with running quarterbacks is sustainability. There's a lot of things in this country we fall for. RG3, I had pushback his rookie year. I said, okay, he won rookie of the year, but I'm not sure this style with his body type is sustainable. Tim Tebow had a winning streak, and I said, yeah, Matt Prater's a great kicker and their defense is keeping him in games. I don't think Tebow's winning streak is sustainable.

What do you see on film from Lamar? Well, there's a matter. And you have to decide how you feel about the quarterback position in the NFL. Can you be a high-level quarterback? And don't forget, they trade it up to get him in the first round. Can you be a high-level quarterback if you're not a consistent throw? throw over the football from the pocket. Now, I think, and again, he's only started two games.

So this is not, we're not discussing his career as a whole here, but the question is, can you be? And I'm sure there are people who now believe that, hey, you don't have to be that with the influence of the college game in the NFL. But if you believe, as I do, that you still have to be able to make throws from the pocket in the NFL to be a really high-level quarterback, then I'm not sure that the nature of that offense right now is sustainable unless he continues to significantly improve, and that's where the ball placement issue comes into play. He's going to have to get better at that.

Let's shift to Baker Mayfield. I said he's too accurate a thrower to be a bust. I never said he'd be a way better version of Case Keenham, but that's what he is. I don't think he's Breeze. I don't think he's Russell Wilson. Now, he's had like a three-week stretch. How much of that stretch is Atlanta, Cincinnati, Kansas City defense, which are dreadful? He's a By the way, he seems better now that Hugh Jackson and Todd Haley are gone. What's happened in the last month to elevate his play? Well, we can agree to disagree on that, Colin, because I think that actually that Maker Mayfield is going to be a very, very good quarterback.

First of all, he has a really good field vision, and that's something that's very rare for a young player. He sees things extremely well, and there's something he does that very few young quarterbacks do. He has a great natural feel for two things. for moving and manipulating the defense and zone coverage, and number two, for eliminating what's not there very quickly within the timing of the play and then getting to what is there.

And those are two things that you rarely ever see from young quarterbacks, and he's very, very refined at that for a first-year player. In the last three weeks, why has he jumped up? Because since Haley left and since Hugh left, his numbers are better. Well, I think they've, to me, just watching the tape, I think what they've done is they've done a lot more of rhythm stuff, which is essentially what he is. Yes, does he have the ability to move? He's sure he does. But at his core, he's a twitchy kid who with a very quick drop and set, quick compact delivery, and you want him to play in rhythm.

And he's very, very accurate with the football. So I think they've done a lot more of that, and he's been very effective. Tom Brady's numbers are not spectacular this year. No. In a world where everything's a firework show, his numbers have been very mundane, very average. Now, they do have with Sony Michelle and James White a really nice tandem at running back. Maybe one of their better running back tandoms. You know, is that why the numbers are down?

Are they becoming more run-reliant? What do you see? Shell, when he's healthy, he's carried the ball over 20 times in three games, I think, 18 times in another game. Last week, they rushed for over 200 yards for the first time since 2014. And it'll be very interesting this week in that game against Minnesota, where Minnesota has a very good run defense among the top five in the league. But this is an offense that I think has sort of transitioned a little bit.

You never know with Bill Belichick. But I don't think that Brady is at the stage or their offenses at the stage where they're going to come out, spread it out, and have Brady drop back 45 times against that defense. I think they're past that point. I don't think they can be that effective, as effective as they used to be doing that. I think they're going to continue to stay with the run game. Yeah.

And by the way, I like Michelle and I like James White. So it's a good time to do it. They have good personnel back. And Brex-Berkhead. So they got guys. Yeah, I would agree with you. So, Dak Prescott, the Amari Cooper trade. His numbers have gone up.

Is it mostly Amari? Well, win one-on-one. And it certainly helps when you throw 10-yard passes and he takes it to the house. but at their core, the Cowboys are an old school offense. And again, now, tonight's game is going to be the poster child for people's worldview of the NFL, and it's going to be one sample, not large enough to make any definitive opinion, but people will, because what you're going to do is you have an old school offense. They're a run game foundation with a high-level back.

We know that. They're an execution run game, so it's not a lot of misdirection, deception, you know, it's not jet sweep. It's basically let's line up and run the ball with a really good back. And it's a very basic task game that by NFL standards is somewhat remedial and elementary. And when you have really good players, that can work to some degree. But that's what their offense is. And they play to their defense, and they play to their run game. And so the question is, can their defense be good enough to hold the highest scoring team in the league, let's say, under 30,

which the Cowboys have not given up in any game? And can their offense put up enough points if they don't become 90-yard touchdowns? Yeah, I like New Orleans tonight by about 10. Before I get to the play of the night, I thought one of the really interesting games last week that was under the radar, and I thought it was a really impressive win, Seattle coming back to beat Carolina, Russell Wilson, a couple of dimes late in the game.

You know I like Russell more than most people, and I don't like Cam as much as most people. What did you think about the quarterback matchup, Cam and Russell last weekend? I thought Cam Newton played very well. It might have been his best game of the season, but that's lost because they lost. but I think Russell Wilson, it was a continuation of the way he's playing this year.

Not a lot of running. He's playing more from the pocket. And I think he's been far more efficient. They still want to run the ball. I guess he can run at times when he feels the need to, but he's not doing that anywhere near as much. And therefore, their offense is playing far more within rhythm. It's more consistent that way. It's more stable that way.

And, you know, as we've probably discussed before, I think Mike Solari, their O-line coach, is his assistant coach of the year. I mean, he's doing an unbelievable job. It's the exact, for the most part, a lot of the same group that they had in previous years, and they're playing very, very well. Yeah, they really are. Carson's been a really good running back, too. He's a he's a grinder. He fits what Pete Carroll wants. He's not spectacular. You know, there's nothing special about him, but he is a grinder, and if it's blocked for three, he gets six, and that's the way you want your running game to be as a sustaining run game. Greg CoSell, plus 30 years. in the NFL films business. Thanks, man.

Appreciate it, Colin. Thank you. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Baker Mayfield won offensive player, rookie offensive player. Not offensive player, rookie offensive player of the month. It's whatever. I don't blame Cleveland fans. I mean, Cleveland, outside of LeBron's a whole. I mean, Brown's been embarrassing. Indians have never won a title. I mean, it's, you know, the Cavaliers were a joke without LeBron. I don't blame Cleveland for going gaga over Baker Mayfield.

I get it. Like they've whiffed in the last 20 quarterbacks. I totally get it, right? Their weather's not good. They're not glamorous. Rockefeller left. Steinbrenner left. LeBron leaves twice.

I get it. They're a low self-esteem sport city. I get it. And they're just loving this whole Baker thing. I get it. I totally get it. And he's been, Colonies better than you thought.

Well, I mean, right now, he didn't start the year. And they haven't played their last five games. which are a lot of road games against better defenses. If he scales back, he is two years older than all the other rookie quarterbacks with twice as many college starts. My feeling was always he's going to be better sooner than everybody else, but I don't think over 12 years he's got the personality I want running my franchise. But he is two years older, double the college starts. There's no question right now.

He's more refined. He's played more of this game called football. He stayed in college all five years if he count the transfers. Here's what I don't like, though. he's a rookie NFL quarterback not through his first year and he continues he's got three different coaches he's already called out so he called out Todd Haley this week his first coordinator here we go and what it comes down to is we still have the same players that's what I said when

everything was happening we just had to play better you know what you can put your own spin on it but we have the same players yeah we have people we have people that we believe in calling the plays now. Didn't have to really go there. So he called out his first NFL coordinator. And three times this week, he's called out his first NFL head coach. Here's one of the quotes.

I didn't lose 30 plus games. I wasn't fake. I wasn't going to have a scholarship in college. Don't compare the two. Good try, though. So now he's called out his first NFL coach. Didn't have to go there. He's called out his first NFL coordinator. And oh, by the way,

his first college coach, Cliff Kingsbury. He called him out too. Once he came to the program, got hurt. He felt he was ignored by Kingsbury. I went from being the guy for Coach Kingsbury, and then when I got hurt, it just changed a little bit, not a little bit a lot. All of a sudden, it was as if I hadn't played for him, hadn't done anything for him. It was just different after I got hurt. I've invested a lot into this, and now you're telling me that you don't have a scholarship for a guy that won you five games after choosing to come here. That was the final straw for me. Again, there's no reason to go here three times.

All I'm saying now, this stuff's all on his resume. And one of the reasons I said, I'm all about when you draft a quarterback number one, I loved Carson Wentz. I like to Sean Watson. You know, I loved Andrew Luck. You know, I'm pretty good on the quarterback thing. One of the things I said is, you know, he's older.

You're not going to fail completely. He's too accurate. But is this 12 years of this stuff? Because even people who are more talented, Cam, Rogers, and Big Ben are so dramatic. Those are the three most dramatic quarterbacks in the league. Baker, who's not nearly as talented as Cam, Big Ben, and Rogers. Noise overtime wears people out. This dude's not through his rookie year.

He's called out his first college coach. He's called out his first NFL coach. He's called out his first NFL coordinator. It's all on his reservation. right now. I mean, this is his brand. Like he rips coaches. Well, in fairness, aren't all three of them fired? By the way, there's a, you could go, there's a lot of coaches been fired that Brady's worked for. McDaniels was a disaster. Bill O'Brien has not been a home run. Charlie Weiss was a disaster. I'm not saying that like, all I'm saying is it's, you know, Baker had an issue with them and

they have all been fired. I'm not saying that there's a correlation to do, but it's not like he's calling out Bill Belichick or Nick Sabin. But he's a rookie quarterback halfway through his starts. Do you really got to put this on your resume? I mean, I for one. By the way, Andrew Luck, his coach got fired. You'll never. No, but Angeluk doesn't say anything.

He's got a flip phone. I wear his Velcro shoes. You know what? Simplify everything. I may buy Velcro shoes if that's what it takes. I'm actually for that, Steve Jobs style. Yeah. I'm shocked that there's dysfunctioning.

Would you want your quarterback to taking shots constantly at coaches? No, I don't think it's necessary to take shots constantly at coaches, but I think Hugh Jackson and Todd Haley just got fired. That Kingsbury thing is old. It's just being brought up now because you're using it as an example. He rips people all the time. But it's still, if you rip people, it goes on your resume. If I was ripping all my bosses, then people could go back and say, oh, it's not the first time. Colin seven years ago. He clearly does this whenever he is cross. He's going to talk about what happened. But so did Hugh Jackson. Hugh Jackson's not my franchise quarterback.

I just don't want my franchise quarterback being dramatic. Cam is, he's underachieved. Aaron Rogers, 11, 16, and 1. Ben, they've underachieved. I think football's hard. I think when you add... But did you think that Baker was going to come into the league and be different than Baker is? I didn't think it'd be this bad.

I mean, by the way, Hugh came on the set. He wouldn't say a bad word about him. Wouldn't say a bad word about... And when Hugh was on the set, Baker hadn't been great. Went above, didn't rip him, tried to be a nice guy. I'm not into this stuff. Want 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. After almost three hours, Colin apparently hasn't gotten to the point yet. Quit holding out on us, cowherd. It's the best for last. So when Aaron Rogers replaced Brett Favre, you know, Brett Favreve was so iconic and so beloved, Aaron Rogers came in, and we didn't really know what to expect.

First year wasn't great. He was talented but not great. And then, you know, for the rest of it, he's been amazing, right? And he's been kind of the golden boy, the talented arm, a lot of national endorsements. All earned, by the way. He's terrific. But I noticed, and I said this earlier today, driving into work the last five or six days, especially since that lost in Minnesota, you can tell that the branding is changing.

People are now, not just me. I've been doing this for years, but a lot of people, a lot of hosts, radio and TV are like, you know what? Some of this is on Aaron. He's prickly. He can be condescending. He's difficult. He's forcing a coach out.

He's passive aggressive. So for the first time, Aaron's, the golden boy is getting tarnished. The golden boy is being criticized. And his reputation has gone from talented, smart, the great ad libber,

goat conversation to, he's 11, 16, and one over his last two years. And he's difficult. And he can't get along with the coach and they're not that fun to watch. And, you know, so but I thought to myself, you know, Joey, his new brand is kind of prickly and

kind of difficult and kind of passive aggressive, but that doesn't mean if I was his agent, he's still he's got a new brand. So let's create commercials for the new Aaron Rogers. It's not the worst thing to have his brand. You're weighing to this agent role today.

Yeah. So, I mean, I'm thinking myself, all right, I can create products that fit Aaron Rogers, new personality that's been unveiled. Here for the holiday season. Here's one I thought about. Just in time for the holidays, Aaron Rogers brand Rubik's cubes.

You'll think they're really cool at first, but then you'll immediately grow tired of playing with them. Now in stores. That is kind of a good description of a Rubik's Cube. And Aaron, you kind of get tired of plan with him. It's not terrible. I think I'd buy that thing. Here's another one that is totally

on brand for Aaron. Just in time for the holidays, Aaron Rogers brand mops. They'll clean up all your messes unless you fumbled in the fourth quarter like some idiot. Now in stores. Kind of a shot at Thai Montgomery.

Hmm. I don't know. How about this one? This one's on brand for Aaron and the Packers. Okay. Just in time for the holidays.

Aaron Rogers brand desktop computers. They're great when you're at home, but completely useless when you're everywhere else, especially Minnesota. Now in stores. That is incredibly accurate. If only all ads were as accurate as that. No kidding. Like that, you could name that the Aaron Rogers desktop computer. You could just forget Microsoft.

I mean, really, like, desktops are so reliable at home. They're not great in Minnesota. They're fast, yeah, no. And, yeah, so I think he's got a new brand. Difficult, little prickly. This one, I think, for the holidays is the best match. Just in time for the holidays, Aaron Rogers brand Snuggies. Perfect for when you're curling up on your couch in January.

Just like Aaron will be doing. Now in stores. That was kind of a cheap shot. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the Internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

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

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