The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 12/05/2019

Episode Date: December 5, 2019

Colin says both the Bears and Cowboys did the same thing in the off-season that has derailed their 2019 seasons. He thinks mobile QBs are the future not a fad. If the Patriots and Tom Brady do split up he thinks Brady will be fine but Belichick might not be. Plus, Greg Cosell of NFL Films talks about the Cowboys lack of an offensive identity and why what the Ravens are doing with Lamar Jackson is almost impossible to defend. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. Cowboys Bears tonight on Fox Live at L.A., this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now, I think it's the smartest

hour of the week. Greg Kosell stops by if you play fantasy football, you bet on football, where you just love the game, gives you little bits and pieces of stuff you don't hear anywhere else. Greg Co. S.L. in one hour. I heart Fox FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you? I'm great.

Very excited for this game tonight. Yeah, tonight is I'm having a soup and a sweater party of one. I'll be watching the Cowboys and the Bears tonight. A nice vegetable stew? No, no. I've got to have some protein in there. Yeah? Yeah. Something like a turkey Yeah, there we go, or chicken or

something like that. So tonight two teams are the mirror of each other. Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bears. Two six and six teams. Semi-loaded rosters. Both had won the division. Both stand pat with their team.

Both think we got a shot at a Super Bowl here. Some real special players. Dallas on offense, Chicago on defense. Both had a big distraction during the offseason. Zeke right during camp. Is he going to sign? Chicago Bears had 37 people, including male men, in Chicago try out to be their kicker.

And here we are both terribly disappointed at 6 and 6. Now, in Chicago, they're blaming the quarterback Mitch Trubisky. And in Dallas, they're blaming the coach, Jason Garrett. But these are big brands, semi-loaded rosters, tons of talent, won their division, and now this morning they're both at 6 and 6 facing tonight kind of the game to define their season. By the way, I think both criticisms are fair. I think Mitch Trubisky's a nice kid, but it's not a next-level franchise quarterback that can pull average people. And it's sometimes in your career, ask Tom Brady, you're going to have to pull average people to be a franchise guy.

And I think Jason Garrett's a guy that kind of lacks a presence because his owners constantly commenting about him and the football team and is the GM. He never really feels like his team. But Dallas and Chicago also did something very similarly, and I don't agree with it, that is the burden of expectations. We're good enough. Dallas never really went out and upgraded. I mean, Randall Cobb, but he was just replacing Cole Beasley. That's not an upgrade.

That was just replacing somebody who left. Chicago's like, we're good. Let's roll with it. That's interesting because look at the teams this year that look very special, Baltimore. Baltimore already had a great running game. And they're like, let's add Mark Ingram. Oh, Seattle already had Pete Carroll, had playmakers. Let's get Jadavian Clowny, Quadry Diggs at Safety, and Flash Gordon.

Okay, three more good players. We were already good last year. San Francisco has all sorts of clever offensive pieces. Then they're like, let's add another one. Trading deadline. Emmanuel Sanders. Winning is fleeting in the NFL. And the Cowboys and the Bears were like, we're good.

We're good enough. We'll have to upgrade. and here they stand this morning at 6 and 6. The Cowboys have not had a defensive takeaway, and they have some nice players, but they have not had a defensive takeaway in over a month. It should be noted, Houston, by the way, won their division last year.

What did they do? What did Houston do? Went and got a couple running backs, made a big deal to get a receiver, and then they got an offensive lineman, a left tackle, and they gave up picks. So Houston won a division. They're like, we're not standing, Pat.

We're not standing, Pat. Baltimore already ran the football well. We're not standing, Pat. Seattle was already good. We're going to add three people. Two in the middle of the season. San Francisco already had all sorts of explosive offensive players. We're going to add Emmanuel Sanders.

Dallas, Chicago, we're good. And today they're not. Good. I like Dallas tonight. I think it's ugly. It's low scoring. It's going to be 40 and really cold, whether or not a factor. And the reason I like him is DAC.

I don't blame Dak for all of it, but there are leadership qualities. I think he rises tonight. It's why I would make him a franchise. quarterback, though franchise tagging him is not outrageous. Here's Dack before tonight's game. When it's times like this, it's more to lead by example. Talk's cheap, right? We've talked a lot and we've talked a bunch and gotten ourselves right to where we are. So in a moment like this, I say hell with the talking and I'm going to do more, I'm going to work harder. And if you're a young guy looking for somebody to figure it out and how to do it, yeah, look at me and some of these

other guys because that's exactly what we're doing is putting our head down, focusing, and them down on ourselves. All right, 2320, I'll take the Cowboys by a field goal tonight. I want to shift to something. You know, they're talking about why the NBA ratings are down, and I think a lot of it is because the NFL ratings are up. I think we have a lot of great stories this year, and most of them are quarterback stories. And I think the stories are so good. I find myself watching more NFL, and I haven't really burrowed into the LA, you know, the NBA outside of the Lakers and the Clippers. But I saw this this morning, that Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen have the most combined rushing yards of any quarterback matchup ever and they play this weekend. It's going to be a very

good game, Bills, and Baltimore Ravens, Lamar against Josh Allen. So let's go back. I believe athleticism. A lot of people think it's a fad. I do not. There's a big difference between a fad and the future. So let's go back. I'm getting new information now. I'm not a stubborn guy. I'm not a rigid guy. I am a creature of habit, but I'm willing to move off things. Not everything, but most things if you give me new information. So let's go to the draft two years ago, the five first round quarterbacks. The most athletic one is Lamar Jackson. He's going to be the MVP.

The second most athletic one is Josh Allen. He's 14 and 9 and 23 starts. The third most athletic one is Sam Darnold. He's actually found his groove behind a terrible offensive line. The fourth most athletic is Baker Mayfield, a turnover machine whose lack of athleticism has actually hurt him. And the fifth most athletic is Josh Rosen. He has disappeared.

He's in Florida. Maybe it's the Brunerite the triangle. He's just disappeared. In linear order, the more athletic, the more success. Because I don't believe mobile quarterbacks are a fad. I think college football has mostly moved to spread offenses. And because of the new CBA, we are seeing offensive lines more than any time in my life regress. What's the difference between a fad in the future?

To me, it's sustainability. The Atkins diet was a fad. Eat steak, bacon, and eggs all day. You'll lose weight and have a heart attack. Sustainable is you're a vegetarian, a vegan. It's a plant-based diet where if you do eat that, mostly, you'll be healthier and live longer. A fad is the Hummer. Remember that vehicle years ago?

Four miles a gallon and you couldn't park it in. anywhere. It was a really ugly yellow building on wheels. The future is something like the Tesla. It's electric. It doesn't make any noise. It's super comfortable. Lots of tech. And we live in a tech world. The wildcat was a fad. Hike the ball to a running back. Oh, it'd catch you off guard. And then you'd eventually have to pass. That's a fad. Mobile quarterbacks are the future.

In order, Lamar's the best, Josh is two, Darnold three, Baker, four, Josh Rosen, 5. Think it's a coincidence? Most athletic to least athletic,

who's succeeding. Because of what college football is giving the NFL and because of offensive line play more than any time in my line, life, has deteriorated. This is the future. It used to be, they called it a dual-threat quarterback,

right? The guy who ran? but that was the elephant in the room was he can't throw it was either pro style those guys win super bowls i like those guys or dual threat mostly runs now it's not an either or you can't draft a statue it's all over it's all over you have to be somewhat athletic by the way many of you have compared Lamar Jackson, who's on his way to being first or second in the MVP race. And I hear some Tebow and Kaepernick stuff. I always thought Tebow, I'll give myself credit here.

I thought he was a fad. I didn't think he was as athletic. The Combine proved it, as everybody said. He didn't run any faster in the Combine in the 40 that I did in high school. And he was never a good thrower. Lamar Jackson is absurdly athletic and a better thrower. Lamar Jackson's not a fad. You know, a fad is the wildcat, hike the ball to a running back, catch off guard.

But now the mobile quarterback is, oh, he can beat you with his legs and his arm, and I think it's here to stay. So when Lamar faces Josh Allen, it will be the two most athletic quarterbacks, the two most dynamic quarterbacks athletically from that class. one's going to be an MVP and one is 14 and 9 through 23 games and it should be noted getting better.

Can't wait for 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better.

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It hit late in yesterday's show. And listen, the current dynasty in the sport is New England. I lived in Connecticut 10 years. I followed it. Tom Kern was a writer back there. and he's got a very kind of an exhaustive article on the Brady Belichick thing and how Tom is, I mean, we've all seen this. He's getting snippier. We saw him on the sidelines.

We've seen the press conferences. He's miserable. He apparently told NBC sports Chris Collinsworth a couple weeks ago when they interviewed him before the game, I'm miserable. Collinsworth was joking. I can't believe we didn't put it on the air. Tom's like I'm the most miserable 10-1 quarterback in the history of the NFL. And in the article, they talk about how, you know, Tom's taking pay cut after pay cut after pay cut after pay cut. and yet they didn't keep Welker and Gronk is gone and Tom's getting frustrated and Bill Belichick doesn't want to pay him $25 to $30 million even though, you know, PFF, he's a top 10 quarterback and everybody's going to make more than Tom Brady.

And there's a course, they go back to an article years ago where Tom Brady's father said, and nobody knows a son like his dad. Tom Brady's dad came out and said, I think it's going to end very, very poorly for my son in New England. He wants to play until he's 70. And I read that article and I read Tom Curran's article yesterday and I thought to myself, I think it's going to end very, very well for Tom Brady. I think it's going to end disaster. It's going to be a disaster for New England. New England has no backup plan at quarterback, and I'd like to see anybody else go 10 and 2 with this dearth of weapons.

Listen, Green Bay had a backup plan, Aaron Rogers. India had a backup plan, Andrew Luck. Niners had a backup plan, Steve Young. They don't have a backup plan. Jared Stidham's not a backup plan. Not in the AFC with Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes. That's not a backup plan. And I think Tom Brady has all the leverage.

I don't think anybody else could go 10 and two with these weapons. There is no succession plan. And here's the thing that cracks me up. Remember when Peyton Manning was off his fourth neck surgery and he went to the open market? I mean, the Indianapolis Colts loved him and said, we're going to let you go. Knowing that he had something left. Peyton Manning, there were seven teams that made a bit on him. He got rid of like four and it came down three really good teams.

He looked at Denver's defense. He looked at Denver's offensive line. He trusted John Elway. He trusted the late owner, Pat Bowlin, went for it when a Super Bowl, got to two. You don't think Tom Brady on the open market is not going to have an opportunity. Any team that can win now, the Bears, Carolina, the Chargers, they're not interested? I mean, everybody tells me Cam Newton, Chicago, timeout. Tom Brady or Cam Newton, open market, guy with a bunch of injuries or none, totally focused or distracted,

precision thrower or not, a guy that's never played in cold weather cam or Tom Brady, who's lived in cold weather at Michigan and Foxborough, and maybe the best cold weather thrower I've ever seen in the NFL, and I'm not joking on that. You take Tom Brady.

What about the Chargers? Moving into a new stadium, culture changer. You know, if you end up with a 13th draft pick and can't get a quarterback, you wouldn't roll the dice for two years with Tom Brady? I would if I ran the Chargers. A bunch of good players, ready to win now. How about Carolina?

New owner. Got rid of Ron. Seems like I'd consider Tom Brady. Like the idea, I mean, the Indianapolis Colts have this incredible young roster, Jacoby Berset for one year. Brady and Berset already get along. You wouldn't bring in Tom for two years? Tom may just want two years.

Let me win games now. So this idea, Tom Brady's dad, it's going to end badly for Tom. I think it's going to be fine for Tom. I think if Tom can either stay in New England and demand a bigger salary or I'm out of here, you know, or if he is out of here, he'll do a patent. Manning and have people line up for him. There's a bunch of really interesting teams here. I wouldn't count Dallas because I think they're in on DAC and they probably should be. But you've got some Carolinas, you've got some Chicago's, you've got Indianapolis,

you've got the Chargers. I would absolutely roll the dice on Tom. Peyton Manning never forget. Not only had Denver, San Francisco wanted him, Pete Carroll wanted him. Miami. Miami. And that was off four neck surgeries. Tom's never hurt. Tom's defied age. If you don't think he's going to have open suitors on the market, you're not paying attention. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Tonight, it's a huge game. It'll get a massive rating. It's a classic late fall, early winter post- Thanksgiving game. I can't wait to watch the Cowboys and the Chicago Bears tonight. I've already got my sweater picked out. I've got my suit picked out. I've got my Corona picked out. I just sit up there and I'm going to watch football.

And it's kind of a defining game. I think it's a chance. chance for, you know, Dak Prescott to kind of, I think he'll elevate the cowboys and they'll win in a cold, but the weather won't be a factor. It's cold, chilly, mostly clear, it's fine. But it is, I'm interested tomorrow morning what everybody's opinion is on tonight. Because DAC, with good weapons, is facing a very good defense. And, you know, we think Trubisky's a bum and Dak's a franchise guy. Tribisky's a whiff and Dak's a franchise guy. But Dax's going to face a real defense on the road, and Trubisky's going to face a defense that never takes the ball away

and makes everybody comfortable, and everybody looks great against the Cowboys defense. So tomorrow, my prediction is we're all going to be like, you know, Dax's not that much better than Mitch Trubisky, although I think he's absolutely much better. But I think in the NFL, it is interesting. You have to figure out, and this is not just in football, in life, relationships. You've got to figure out the problem before you can solve it, right?

Before you have a solution, what's the problem? So with Dallas right now, they've not only struggled to find an identity, I think there's a lot of people struggling to find the problem. Is it Dak? Is it Jason Garrett? So I always tend to, I take a yellow notepad, legal pads out all the time. And if I'm trying to synthesize something and something's very confusing, I'm trying to simplify it for you, the audience. I take out a yellow note pad and I write stuff down, figure out what's the one thing that seems to be happening instead of confusing me, confusing joy, confusing everybody confusing you the audience. So with a Cowboys, it's very interesting.

So look at who the Cowboys have lost to this year. Green Bay, Minnesota, Buffalo, Jets, Saints, New England. Well, they're all the good teams. The Jets aren't. But Jets aren't a good team. So, well, well, I mean, they were all on the road. No, no, no, some are at home. Well, it was against great quarterbacks.

Well, is Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold, a great quarterback? Who's Dallas losing to? Driving around in your car today? What's Colin getting at? What does Dallas have as an offensive coordinator? A first-time coach, 31-year-old, Tellen Moore. He's young. Talented, I'm told. Creative, young.

what have they lost to? Green Bay, Mike Petten, top 10 defensive coordinator. Buffalo, Leslie Frazier, top 10 defensive coordinator, veteran, Greg Williams, Dennis Allen, Bill Belichick, Mike Zimmer. Oh, we have a thread on my legal notepad. Young Callan Moore is getting worked by veteran defensive coordinators. that's the problem. Now, DAC, his yards are up, touchdowns, everything's fine.

You've got to find the problem before you can fix the solution. Dallas isn't losing all the great teams. They're not losing all to great head coaches. They're not losing all to great quarterbacks. They're losing to really high-end defensive coordinators and really good. It's not even like the defensive The Jets don't have a great defense. They have a very profound defensive, aggressive coordinator

who's seen every quarterback in the league in the last 15 years. Kellen Moore's a kid. He's a talented kid. But this league is mostly decided by guys who have seen everything. Mike Petten, Mike Zimmer, Leslie Frazier, Greg Williams, Dennis Allen, Bill Belichick. Kellan Moore's 31 years old, never a high school coach, never a college coach. Now he's a coordinator in the NFL.

Tonight, by the way, Kellan Moore, Cowboy Coordinator, faces who? Veteran defensive coordinator, Chuck Pagano. Like Leslie Frazier, been a head coach, loses the job, then goes to a talented defense, and now is the defensive coordinator. Listen, I'm all for hiring millennials. I like young people. But you can't teach certain things. It's called games and experience.

So when you start looking on that notepad and writing down, why is Dallas losing and what are they losing to? It's not all great teams. It's not all on the road. It's not all great head coaches. It's not all great quarterbacks. These veteran defensive coordinators who have seen everything fooled for about two to three weeks with Kellynne Moore. All right, they look at film, they look at film, give us your second punch, and he doesn't really have one. Don't you remember the first couple weeks how creative Kellan Moore was?

We were talking about that, remember? My God, it's unbelievable! Callum Moore is so creative. We haven't talked about that in weeks, have we? Because the defensive coordinators figured out all the smoking mirrors. Matt Nagy's a better coach than Callen Moore. It took coordinators a year to figure out his smoking mirrors. Kellan Moore is a kid.

It took everybody about three to four weeks to figure out his. That's the common thread. Gano, Dak Prescott. The issue appears to be a young coordinator who Jerry likes, who's a little right now currently, maybe not long, getting worked by guys who have been around for two decades. Experience matters. 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. There are some teams that everybody would tell you that are good I don't buy into. I don't really buy into the Packers this year. and because it's a small market, they think I'm picking on them. This is the way it is in Carolina, small markets, Green Bay, you're picking on us. Now, Aaron Rogers is unbelievably optimistic. He thinks the team has turned the corner.

He loves the team. Here's Aaron Rogers talking about the Packers. There's been a lot of guys who've really had to embrace a specific role this year. And I think the beauty in seeing the chemistry of the team and the personality of the team has been the response from those guys. that it hasn't been and worrying about their own stats or ego. It's been an embracing of the challenge

and it's collectively made us a lot tighter group and a better team. I don't think that's it. I think they've basically beaten Mitch Trubisky, Matt Moore, Kyle Allen, Daniel Jones, Joel Flacco, DAC, Derek Carr, and Kirk Cousins in Week 2. I think they faced a fairly weak group of course. I think they're a finesse team in a power conference.

San Francisco is more of a power team. Seattle is, New Orleans is. And I think in the NFC playoffs, you're going to have Mike Zimmer elite coach and Pete Carroll elite coach and Sean Payton elite coach and Kyle Shanan elite coach. And you got Matt LaFleur and I don't know what he is. I'm not going to say he's a bad coach. I think he's closer to average than he is great. So I don't see it.

I think what do they do that's special outside of Aaron Rogers has a great arm? I don't see a lot of special with them. So it's not that they couldn't win a playoff game or win their division, but I think Minnesota is going to beat them soundly at home in a few weeks. And I think Minnesota is the better team in that division. I think they have more of an identity. They're a power running team. They're very aggressive.

And I think Mike Zimmer is a terrific head coach. And I don't know what the Packers do well, great, except Aaron's really talented. So with that, let's go to Greg Kossel, 40 years NFL films. And one of the guys I really lean on for all this stuff. Let's start tonight. You know, it was funny. When Dak Prescott came into the league, we said, you know, it's not pretty, but he is pretty good against good teams. He's pretty good late in games.

He's got kind of an it factor. This year, it's flipped. He can't beat any good teams. He's actually better as the quarterback. It looks a little better, but he can't beat. There's a lot of hollow stats here. When you go back to Dak four years ago and Dak today, do you think there's wide variations or is he mostly the same guy? Well, I guess he's not a winner anymore, huh, Colin?

You know, I think that the last couple of games, he's not thrown the ball as well. He's missed some throws that he needs to make. You know, when he first came into the league, he was clearly, for the first couple of years, clearly used as a complementary piece in an offense that was running through the running back. And you'd always see him drop back, and he'd be in pristine pockets. There was never any pressure on him. That's still pretty much the case. He's in an offense that has a lot of talent, has a good all line.

I think he's been a little more accuracy over the last number of weeks, and that's always a problem. But this is an offense that I struggle to figure out, and I know the numbers, I know that Elliot's numbers aren't quite as good, but they're still giving him the ball, but watching the tape, I just don't get a sense that there's a rhythm to it. You know, you used to feel that, hey, it starts with the running back, and everything works off that. now I'm just, I'm not sure what their staple is. No, listen, this is a, we have said all year as casual observers, I don't know what their identity is. Right. And I think teams need identities.

I just said this about the Green Bay Packers. And I would say some of that's on Callan Moore has not created an identity. Matt LaFleur, young coach. I'm not sure what Green Bay's identity is. I know Aaron Rogers is really talented, but some games I feel like they want to run it and some games they don't. Here's a team that's fascinating to me. And I said this before the Monday Night Games. game. I said, Baltimore Raven, Seattle, Seahawks feels right to me. Two good coaching staffs. They've made

additions during the season. I have dynamic quarterbacks who can make plays you can't plan for. Seattle earlier in the year, lost at home to New Orleans, didn't look good, lost to Baltimore. I got to tell you, Greg, coaching matters, teams do improve. Seattle feels different to me today than five weeks ago. Do they on tape? Run the ball. I mean, this week, think Think about this, and I'm going to try to learn more about this. They lined up with six offensive linemen on the field on 42 snaps this week against the Vikings. And I'm actually going to talk to a coach on Friday tomorrow because I'm trying to get a feel for why they do that. Because they actually this season have played with six offensive linemen on almost one quarter of their offensive snaps.

Think about that for a minute. Now, they don't just run the ball out of that. Often they'll line up with six offensive linemen and three wide receivers. But this is a team whose identity is the run game. Now, Russell Wilson is a great player. That's not the point, but their philosophical approach starts with the run. Carson's the sustaining grinder, and now Penny is starting to show some of the traits that we saw in college. Yeah.

And he's got a little more juice and a little more big playability. Yeah. No, I think that's a good way to put it. They, finding an identity in this league, Baltimore has one, and Seattle has found theirs. I want to talk about a team I like a lot. Now, they lost to Seattle, Minnesota. but I did think there was a lot of positives. Adam Thielen's out, Delvin Cook got hurt.

Kirk Cousins in week one, two, and three, run for your life. Whatever they're doing, he at least looks more confident and more poised. So 40 years NFL films, Greg CoSell, what was there a key to at least him being less rattled, him being more poised in the pocket and his improvement? Well, there are another team that has a defined identity. it has to play a certain way because of the quarterback. So they're a running football team, and they run outside zone as their foundation, and they work their past game off of that.

And they can create big plays doing that. They create big plays off play action boot, getting Cousins out of the pocket. When they can do that, they're very, very effective. When you ask Kirk Cousins to be a straight, drop-back quarterback in longer-yarded situations against defenses that have the tactical advantage with their sub-packages, Kirk Cousins will not be quite as good. So that's a team that needs to be able to run the ball. And don't forget, this established the run stuff is garbage.

They've already established the run. They don't have to come out in a given game and run the ball. The way teams prepare to defend them and go about defending them is they're going to defend the run. Their run is already established. So they have to play a certain way knowing that. And when they can do that, they can be very effective. Yeah, I thought they had a very good loss.

I also thought the 49ers had a very good loss, losing to the Ravens offense. They did slow it down a little. What did San Francisco do? As far as their defense? Yeah, I mean, yeah. Well, I think, to be honest with you, I struggled watching that tape of their defense because they chose to crash their defense events, okay, into the backfield, meaning that those guys would go tackle the back on the fake pistol handoffs.

And then what would happen is they would want to scrape a linebacker or, a slot corner if the play went to that side and have that defender be responsible for Jackson. But if it's a stacked linebacker inside, that's hard. I think you have to pick your poison when you play that team. What do you prefer to have happen? Do you prefer the ball get handed off to the back and he runs into the middle of your defense? And they're still good at that. I'm not saying they're not good at that.

Or do you want Jackson on the perimeter outflanking your defense? Because I really believe, and I don't know this for a fact, but I really believe that a lot of those pistol fakes are not reeds. I think they're designed plays in which he's simply going to run because they know he can outrun a defensive end or an outside linebacker, even if the outside linebacker, defensive end stays outside. Yeah. I'm fascinated by Lamar Jackson.

I said this when he came out of college. I said, I think he's a second round guy. I think you sit him on the bench for a year, make him a little better passer. And by the way, he didn't start 411 games, so the Ravens mostly thought the same thing. They drafted him at the end of the first round. But I kind of felt like second round, go get your star in the first round, second round, sit in for 16 to 18 games, bring him in. He does look like, though, to me. I don't think he's a natural passer.

But you know what? His touch, it's pretty good, Greg. It looks pretty good to me. Yeah, and I think he's at his best throwing the ball inside. One thing he did in college, which we're seeing in the NFL. is he does throw the ball well between the numbers versus zone coverage. That's something he did at Louisville, and it showed up on tape, and now you see it in the NFL. I think that the way they play is the only way you can play with Lamar Jackson, because he's not a drop-back quarterback in a strict sense.

You're not going to play with Lamar Jackson like you play with Carson Palmer. This is what you do with Lamar Jackson. It's absolutely the right way to play. And this pressure and strain that he puts on your defense and the way they use their personal, and their motions is so difficult to defend, and it creates throws. Because most teams are going to play with an extra defender in the box. You have to. So you're going to get single high safety coverage, and then they can attack that in the past game.

Let's go to Kansas City's at New England this week. So let's talk about that game. We all have concerns about the Chief's defense. My eyes tell me, Greg, it's gotten a little better over the last month. it's steadily gotten better. That's what my eyes tell me. What is the film tell you? Yes.

Going against the defense, that to me could be the larger issue here. I thought what Romeo Cornell did this past week, Colin, was tremendous. And in some ways, he did what Bill Belichick does. He decided that there were two players on the Patriots offense that could beat him, Julian Edelman and James White. And he basically structured his defensive approach to take away those two players. The yards and the catches,

That all came in the fourth quarter when the game was really out of hand. But the structure, he structured his defense to take them away. And so many people forget, because it's Tom Brady, they want to talk about Brady, that last year down the stretch, they were a running football team playing with a fullback. They don't have a fullback right now. He's injured. So this team can't run the ball particularly well. They only have Edelman and then on certain downs white, and they don't have much else.

So they're not particularly talented, and they can't run the ball. and their O line is not as good as a year ago. So they're very limited offensively right now. Yeah, I mean, I think in Tom Brady, I think you've seen visible reactions at press conferences and on the sideline. He knows it. Tom knows this is a pop-gun offense.

Can't beat you over the top, doesn't have a tight-end presence. And the offensive lines, I don't think it, I just don't think in the AFC this year, it feels like a Super Bowl-level team. No, they're very limited offensively. And, of course, you know, having said all that, you know, you never count out Tom Brady.

I think the track record shows. he's pretty good, but they just are very limited in what they can bring to the table. Yeah. I want to talk about a kid. When the draft happened, I said Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are late first, early second. Right. They got to figure this game out.

Lamar, I didn't think, was ready to run an NFL-style offense. The game is obviously changing. And Josh Allen was the wild pony from Wyoming. I watched them against Oregon and Iowa, and the ball's flying all over the place. He's got a huge arm. He's athletic, but he's erratic. and then I watch Josh Allen now the last three times I've watched him. Maybe it's coaching, but he doesn't make a lot of mistakes.

He has an incredibly powerful arm. He's got some Big Ben. He's a very, very agile. You know, people forget Terry Bradshaw used to run around. Big Ben used to be a runaround guy. I like what I see with Josh Allen. What's the film say? With his ball placement over the last number of weeks.

Now, he'll still miss a couple against the Cowboys. He didn't. He'll still miss a couple. He'll still be a little erratic and scatter shot, but he's gotten better with his pace and touch. Now, having said that, I think he needs much more work with his recognition of coverages, his own coverages, and the throws that are there with the resulting that he still leaves some throws on the field. But he can compensate at times with his running ability and the fact that he's not turning the ball over by forcing throws. And that's critical because this is an offense that's very multiple with their run game.

they have a quarterback who can make big time throws and he can beat you with his legs and his playmaking dimension. They've got speed on the perimeter and they've got enough misdirection and deception to create plays. So they're doing a really good job. But Alan, while he's improved, and it would not surprise me if in any given game, he's just not quite as sharp as he's been. Well, they face Baltimore, and that could be the game this weekend. So let's move to the big play of the week with a guy I love to watch, Deshaun Watson. He played in the same conference as Tribisky, and the Bears thought Tribisky was better. I don't think either one of us love Trubisky.

I like Deshaun. He's not a beautiful throw over the football like in Mahomes, but he makes a lot of amazing plays, and I love watching him. Well, the play that we're going to see was very reflective of this particular matchup. Let's run the play right now, so people see it. People will remember it. It's the 35-yard touchdown to stills. And the reason that I chose this play is it is very representative of this game.

There's stills. Now, the designed play here is a post route. That's the design of the play with Jonathan Jones on him. That's what they're trying to get here. That's the design. So now what you're going to see is he's going to run this route, and you're going to see that Watson is looking to his right. But what they do here is they double-team Hopkins.

This is classic Belichick. He double-teams Hopkins because this is third down. So now what happens? Watson has to look elsewhere, and he sees a lane to move out of the pocket, and he's moving to his left. So what does stills do? He adjusts his route. Instead of going to the post, he works with Watson and bends his route back to the outside to make it look like a deep sail route. And they kind of read each other, and it was really beautifully done, but it all resulted from what Bill Belichick likes to do, which everybody knows.

he takes your number one threat, and in specific situations like third down and red zone, what he does is he double teams them. And he double-team Hopkins throughout the game, and here they beat the double team. And when you play the Patriots, you have to win versus man coverage. Yes, absolutely you do. And there was a flag football element to that. We called it the next day we said it. There's a flag football play in this game, and this felt like it where you just kind of make eye contact with a guy,

and you figure it out, you change it up, and you make a play. Greg Kosel, 40 years NFL films. Thanks, Greg. Money as always. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in 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 talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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Search Learn the hard way 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, 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, ref, my mom, I want you. to wave at her. What?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliffer show on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports.

And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Collins Markey 3.

Oregon versus Utah. I would take the six and a half points with Oregon. I think their defense is better than everybody thinks. Oregon leaves the Pack 12 in sacks and interceptions. This is not a defense that just lays down. It's a really good defense. It's not Utah's defense, but Justin Herbert has faced this Utah personnel twice.

He's been very good against him. Six touchdowns, no picks, thrown for under 300 yards over that. And Oregon's offensive lines, the strength of the team. They got three NFL players. Their offensive line has 213 career starts. That's the most in the nation. Now, Utah's defense is loaded, but they've only faced one ranked team this year, and that was Arizona State at home. So Oregon's going to score some points here.

I think it's low scoring. I think it's very close. I'm going to take Utah to win the game. But the number here, I just can't give up six and a half points. I'll go 2423 Utah in a highly competitive football game with an Oregon defense that is better than advertised. Georgia versus LSU. I like LSU and I like them big. Minus 7.

I'll swallow the points. First of all, Georgia's top two receivers won't be healthy. They've been relying on Jake Fromm. This receiving core, not a lot of over-the-top components. Jake Fromm has struggled. Last four games, he's completing about 50% of his throws. Their best running back at Georgia is hurt. He got hurt against Georgia Tech, DeAndre Swift.

So I think this is a banged-up Georgia offense that has had issues all year being a big play offense. And I think Joe Burrell's on fire. I mean, he's number one in the nation and virtually everything. He's got a great O line. He's got a stud running back I like. LSU's won 13 straight. And they are 4-0 against top 10 teams this year. Okay, and Coach O has won eight of us last nine against top 10 teams.

So LSU is not only good and not only hot, but they've been very good and tested multiple times. And I think their offense is frightening. I think they remind me a lot of Clemson. I don't think they're Ohio State, but I don't think you can stop LSU. I don't know if they can stop everybody because their defense has issues but I'm going to take LSU to win in cover here 3627 and I'm not sure

it'll feel that close. I think LSU's the better team significantly here. Ohio State versus Wisconsin. Ohio State's better but I'm going to take the 16 points and I want to read you this. The last two times a team lost by 30 plus and there was a rematch in the same season

the team that lost the first game won the rematch. Wisconsin got blown out lost by 31. Wisconsin's a real team here. This is a real team in Wisconsin. Beat Michigan, real football team. I'm going to take the points with Wisconsin. Now the first nine games, the Buckeyes defense is good, right? First nine games, it was incredible.

Last three games defensively, Ohio State's giving up 22 a game, only two sacks a game, 300 yards allowed, and Wisconsin's on a four-game winning streak, and their offense has been rolling the last few games. This comes down to me. Ohio State's the better team. You're off the Michigan. game. You may be looking ahead. Wisconsin's just too well coached. They have the best interior offensive linemen in the country, the best running back in the country. I think they keep it close

for a while. Ohio State wins 33 to 20, but I think it feels very close late in the third quarter. I think Wisconsin pushes back and it's a real football game. So I'm going to take Underdog Oregon, favorite LSU and Underdog Wisconsin. Again, all of our odds provided by Fox Bet. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise,

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

follow Timbo Slic 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 from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarthe quarterback on office, Blue 42. Dude. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's he at?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments.

If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs.

This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.