The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Giants Are “Close”, CFB Picks, Vikings Strong Start, Sharp or Square - NFL Week 4 Bets

Episode Date: September 28, 2024

Colin’s top takes of the week! Colin reacts to the Dallas Cowboys ugly win over the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football and explains why the Giants are a quarterback away from being competitive (3:00). He also gives his picks for USC vs. Wisconsin (15:00) and Alabama vs. Georgia (16:30). Then, he’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down the Sam Darnold renaissance in Minnesota under Kevin O’Connell (24:30), Bo Nix’s breakout game for the Denver Broncos (32:30) and why Packers coach Matt LaFluer deserves more accolades (37:30) Then he’s joined by Danny Parkins, co-host of “Breakfast Ball” on FS1 to discuss why the organizational dysfunction of the Bear is holding back Caleb Williams (46:00), why Jerry Jones may be the biggest obstacle the Cowboys face (55:00), and what to make of Trevor Lawrence regressing as a quarterback (01:00:00) Then Chad Millman, Chief Content Officer of the Action Network, joins Colin for a round of “Sharp or Square,” to help provide Colin with the sharpest betting advice week 4 of the NFL season! 01:12:00 - Jets vs Broncos 01:15:00 - Steelers vs Colts 01:17:30 - Bears vs Rams 01:21:00- Packers vs Vikings 01:23:00 - Seahawks vs Lions 01:25:00 - Bills vs Ravens (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The volume. Football seasons here, there's only one place to go for tickets, and that is. Game Time. You know I love Game Time. They have a new feature called Game Time Picks, makes getting tickets for your favorite live events easier. It filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats, so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets. You want to go to a football game or a concert. Just click on the event. You want to attend, and Game Time gives you a seat preview and offers you the super deal. So I get the best bang for my buck, and that's what I'm looking for. Game Time also has the lowest price guarantee,

or they'll credit you 110% of the difference. So take the guess, work out of buying tickets with game time, right? Download the game time app. Doesn't take long. Create an account. Use my code, the redeem code, Colin, C-O-L-I-N for $20 off your first purchase. C-O-L-I-N. Terms apply. Download game time today. What time is it? Game time. I want to start with the New York Giants because if I said there's a team in the state of New York, Brian Daibald is on the offensive side, single terries, one of the running backs, good left tackle, serviceable O-line, one great weapon, really strong defensive front. No, that's not the Buffalo Bills.

That's the Giants. And if you gave Josh Allen to the Giants, we would talk about them in the Super Bowl bubble. The Giants have a lot of components that Super Bowl teams have outside a quarterback. They need to draft a running back. They need more juice in the backfield, which the bills did for years until they drafted James Cook. They had Devin Singletary Who, who just doesn't have a lot of breakaway speed. But for years, you know, once they got Stefan Diggs, it was good defensive front, capable coach,

Dable in the room, single tarry it back, good left tackle, serviceable O line, excellent defensive front, one great weapon. So I don't think the Giants are hopeless. They just, Brian Dable is coaching his butt off. I mean, Daniel Jones tonight, they dominate time of possession with no run game and an average quarterback, below average. They literally dominate time of possession. Daniel Jones goes 29 to 40 until the very end didn't have an interception, no touchdowns. He's not throwing interceptions anymore.

And they go against Dallas with no deep down the field threat. They're getting the ball to neighbors. He had 12 catches. But the Giants with no run game and a mediocre quarterback dominate time of possession. Against Dak Prescott, pretty good quarterback. And Mike McCarthy, a Super Bowl winning coach. I think Daibel is, you know, he would never win, like even honorable mention coach of the year, but because their record won't be good.

But it's not like the Giants are hopeless. They're just hopeless at quarterback. And so that's where an owner interfered and a general manager and a coach are doing the best they can. But they're a little bit trapped because, you know, they're going to have dead cat money if they move off Daniel Jones. He is serviceable now. He could certainly on the market, somebody would come after him. He's serviceable. probably wouldn't be good elsewhere because he wouldn't have neighbors and he wouldn't have

Daible. But there's pieces of the giants that Super Bowl teams have. Really good defensively up front, above average left tackle, great weapon, dable on the offensive side, if they had the quarterback right. So people look at the Giants and think they're hopeless. If it was a great quarterback class, this is a six-win team, five-win team, you'd get one of them. It's not. There's a couple of guys. Even the Georgia quarterback now with Georgia's O-line beat up looks pretty average, right? Like against Kentucky, couldn't move the ball. Quinn Ewers, maybe at number one. Cam Ward, I like those two. Shoulder Sanders worries me a little, you know, I wish he would be a little more chill, but he can play. So you have three or four quarterbacks in the first round. They

probably have to draft one if I was a Giants, I would draft one. Because I don't think they have a ton of needs. You can get running backs. I was just talking to a general manager last night. History tells you. Analytics tell you the running backs. You can get your running backs third, fourth, fifth, six rounds. Don't draft them in the first two rounds unless you get like a Sequin or an Adrian Peterson or a Z. You know, you don't need to. So it's, you know, Giants will draft a quarterback. They considered it this year. And, you know, if the kids, you know, the offensive line now is more than capable. But Brian Dable's excellent. He's doing a great job. To dominate time of possession. And And until the end, again, Daniel Jones didn't have an interception more than capable.

I mean, the guy threw for, you know, 200 and some 75, 280 yards with really no deep balls and no run game. They just got to get the quarterback right. And again, Quinn Ewers is an NFL quarterback. Schroor Sanders is back from Georgia and Cam Ward. So you're going to have four first round quarterbacks. I think Riley Leonard late first, second. He's a little wild, you know, great athlete, big. size, not great in the accuracy. Can you teach him to do that? You know, NFL people probably

could. Josh Allen was wild. People still like Anthony Richardson, and he is 49% completion percentage. So I know you think that the Giants, I know JMAC probably thinks all is lost for the Giants, they just got to get the quarterback right. Dable, left tackle, neighbors, good defensive front, they got pieces. They got pieces. The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, what was 11 penalties? Jesus, if you took C.D. Lamb out of this team, there is nothing there. I mean, there's just,

their fullback is like a weapon. You know, I like their field goal kicker. I missed one at the end. Damn it. But, you know, neither team really had a run game tonight. I just think, you know, again, let's talk about this. Oh, if the New York Giants hit on a quarterback next year. Let's say the Patriots aren't going to draft the quarterback because they have Drake May.

Carolina probably would, right? Tennessee, if they're bad, probably would, although I think they figure out a way to win four or five, six games. But a lot of the bad teams have their quarterbacks, right? They're going to give them a shot. So the Giants win five games, you know, they're not going to be Dallas, five or six wins. They'll probably have the fifth sixth pick. And a lot of the bad teams just got their quarterback. So they're going to get one of these quarterbacks.

I like their future. I like Daimel more than Mike McCarthy. I like the Giants' defensive line more than Dallas. I like their left tackle more than Dallas. They both have good weapons. Owner, I'll take the Giants, I guess. The Giants just need a quarterback and pick up a running back in the fourth or fifth round.

They've got a lot of components. Dallas is kind of trapped. They're paying CD a fortune. They'll pay Micah, who I like I don't love, a fortune. They're paying DAC a fortune. owner, vain, more about, you know, getting attention than and being remarkably interesting and talked about more than I think really winning titles, despite what he says. Their offensive line is just okay, no juice in the backfield, average at tight end,

very cede lamb, and he's great, but very cd lamb-centric. I don't see this great future, and they're stuck with Dak, who's good, B-plus. It's like having Kirk Cousins in his prime. It's good. Be plush. You wouldn't get to the playoffs. But if the Giants next year, let's say they have the fourth pick in the draft, and Travis Hunter from Colorado goes number one,

and let's say somebody likes Cam Ward. He goes two, and the Giants move up a spot, give up some draft picks, and they get Quinny Ures, and he's good. And Brian Dable is really good with quarterbacks. He's made Daniel Jones, now that he has one weapon and a more serviceable O-line, capable. Not special, capable. So it's like who would have the better future? If you got

quinewers or back and you establish pretty quickly, guy can play. A little bumpy for sure. Guy can play. Who's future do you like? Dabors? Dable? Weapons. You can get a running back every year. Just draft them. They're out there. I don't know. I know Dallas dominates this series and I know everybody thinks, you know, Dallas, Dax. You know, the star in the helmet is, you know, is very influential, but you know, you're stuck with McCarthy, at least for the rest of this year, 11 penalties. He's always been penalty plagued. I mean, tonight Mike has hurt, the Marcus Lawrence banged up. I don't know. Maybe I'm being just overly negative. Laker fans feel the same way, but I said this today on FS1, you know, family owned and operated just felt better

20 years ago. I think now you can have a deli like that, but in tech, I don't want a family-owned and operated tech giant. You know, maybe that's what Larry Ellison has with Oracle. Maybe that's it. But by and large, I like the staying cronky of the world. I like, you know, the Allen family in Seattle, York family in San Francisco. I big money, something beyond just the team. I don't think Dallas's future is bright.

I really don't. And it's not a shot at DAC. I mean, God, if you put Daniel Jones on the Cowboys and Dak on the Giants, Giants are a playoff team. Absolutely. Cowboys are bad, bad. I mean, you wouldn't even have to get a great quarterback with Daible and the Giants' defensive front and neighbors in their left tackle.

You wouldn't need a great quarterback. You'd need Dak. You'd be a playoff team every year. Hell, Eli Manning wasn't a great regular season quarterback, but he was great. Always arrived. always healthy, always playing, two-minute drill, and good in the playoffs. Think about this. DAC is 24 and 4 against Washington and the New York Giants.

That's not going to continue. Davele's getting his quarterback next year, Washington has there. It was like Big Ben for years, eight on Cincinnati and Cleveland. Then Burrough showed up, Baker showed up, and didn't feel the same. And so when you get that eight, nine-year window with a big franchise, a Dallas, or at Pittsburgh and you have the lesser halves or the have-nots in your division and you're just dominating it for like nine years, you got to get multiple playoff wins. You got to show up in a conference championship. You got to show up in a Super Bowl. Pittsburgh did it. You know,

Pittsburgh, Tomlin, they get to a couple of Super Bowls. Okay. They beat in Arizona. They beat Seattle. They got theirs. It didn't end like you'd like in Pittsburgh, but they got theirs when Cincinnati and Cleveland were, you know, not great, didn't have star quarterbacks. Well, Washington and New York, since Eli left, have been a mess. What's Dallas having to show for it? 24 and 4. It's just 2-0 every year. Nothing to show for it.

They beat the New York Giants last year by 72 combined points. The Cowboys did it. Tonight, they needed a guy who can kick long-field goals. So I, and Daibold's getting his guy in this draft. They're going to have a top six-seven pick, and there's four quarterbacks. And Travis Hunter's going to be one of the top guys taken. Will Johnson, that corner for Michigan is going to be one of the top guys taken. So there's a tackle at Texas probably going to be one of those guys taken.

There's a defensive tackle for Kentucky's probably going to be one of those guys taken. Giants are getting a quarterback. Maybe the second choice for Davell, but they're getting somebody. So is that too negative? I just, I don't know. You know, DAC has over 40% of his wins on the Giants and Washington. But now that Jaden Daniels is cooking and he looks like he can really play, now that Jaden Daniels is cooking and the Eagles are always going to have players with Harry Roseman,

I think the days of getting fat on Washington and the Giants are over. And the Giants are going to get in their quarterback next year. And Daibles, really good with quarterbacks. This was not Daible's quarterback. He wouldn't have drafted him. He's not his guy. They didn't want to give him the extension. Don't blame Daible for this.

That's upstairs. That's Mara. He'll get the quarterback he wants. next year. Dable knows quarterbacks. He'll have the influence. He'll have the call with Joe Shane, the GM. They'll get somebody. Cam Ward can play in the NFL. Quinn Ewers can play. Shadour can play. A little bit too much personality from anybody can play. And back at Georgia. So that's four. That's four guys. And somebody will emerge over the next six to seven weeks. And I know it's easy to beat up on teams like the New York Giants right now. But I see a lot of good

pieces. With Dallas, I see a lot of big contracts. and one great player in Cedee Lamb. That's all I see. So I like USC to beat at home beat Wisconsin soundly. It's a 15 and a half point spread. So Wisconsin's coming off the by, but they lost their starting quarterback for the season. Tyler Van Dyke got injured against Alabama. He is out. This is a team that's the opposite of Michigan. They do not run the football. They average four yards a rush. And now we're with a backup quarterback. So, I mean, Luke Fickle is yet to beat a ranked team at Wisconsin. This is a work in progress.

And so we knew that the pounding of Michigan, we knew the defensive line of Michigan would give USC's really talented but young O-line issues. They don't present any of these problems. They don't have a dominant run game. They're good up front, not special. And USC at home passing offense and something to prove. USC did stop the run, except for about three big carries. So you say, well, Michigan average 6.3 yards a carry. That's not what they were averaging before that last big run.

I think USC wins in L.A. They win comfortably. They get their first big 10W. USC brings back essentially the entire offense next year outside of their center and a running back. They're young, but really talented. I think they blow the badgers out. So I think Alabama is a two-point underdog at home against Georgia, and I like Alabama.

So Georgia's banged up on the offensive line. Now, they do have 42 straight regular season wins, and Alabama got into one of these stretches a few years ago where they were just unbeatable in the regular season. But I don't think George is playing particularly well. I watched Kentucky's defensive front push the Bulldogs around for, long sequences in that football game. I thought Kentucky was the more physical team up front, and Georgia Ann is banged up.

Alabama, Kaelin DeBore, this is what he did at Washington. That offense got really good, really quickly, and right now, Bama is sixth in the country. They have an athletic quarterback, Jalen Millrow, who also throws one of the prettiest deep balls in the country. So they can run the ball. They can throw the ball and particularly deep.

The quarterback is athletic. So Mill Role already has 14 touchdowns this season. And in his last 13 games against ranked opponents, I think Kalin DeBoer is special. He's 12 and 1. Oregon had better players. Washington had Kalin DeBore, and they beat him three straight times. I think Alabama as a dog wins this game outright. TD, Tutty, taking it to the house.

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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.

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jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamani Areva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How hard can it be?

How can it be? Getting naked at 50 with the new guy. That one's kind of hard, well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip, just a little bit bigger hips, wider. 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 drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar something here? Just a hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing?

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Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really, trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on.

Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.

And he knows, without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the fly. man, he running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sam Darnel, four touchdowns, no pick. So 34 to 7, Vikings did everything right. Killed him. Hammered Houston. And I was thinking about this,

is that what makes it tougher for Caleb Williams is if you watch what Matt LaFleur is doing with Malique Willis, who looked like he could not play the position a year ago, and you watch what Kevin O'Connell is doing with Sam Darnold. And listen, I don't think Dan Campbell is situationally a great coach, but he's a culture builder. We got three coaches in that division who are really good at what they did. right? Like I'm watching Kevin and I look at Matt Eberfluse and I'm like, bro, you're not in that class. Forget that for now. Close. I'm watching Kevin O'Connell. Everything Darnold does now. This is the, this is the USC version. And I keep waiting for the bubble to burst. Accuracy, playmaking, running, deep ball. And these reckless plays now he got, you know, he tried to extend a play today. Ball gets on the carpet. But it's not just that Donald's winning.

John. He's clean. Four touchdowns, no picks. And this has been with banged up players. Like, I keep waiting for the bubble to burst, but I watched them today. And I'm like, shit, that wasn't competitive. Houston got smoked. Yeah, I mean, that was a team that I don't think any of us would be shocked as playing the Chiefs in the AFC championship game. Right. And that was, and listen, one thing, Darnold and that franchise, their home field advantage is pretty awesome. Yeah, you could tell Houston Day was out of sorts of the line of scrimmage. The other thing they got going for him is this guy has some serious question marks with his ability to relate and deal with quarterbacks. But I don't think there's any disputing that Flores is right up there with Spagnola as the two best defensive coordinators in the NFL.

Non-head coaches. Right. Like true defensive coordinator. Last week, Kyle and Purdy were like, we didn't even know what we were seeing. And clearly Sloick and CJ were just over their head today. what has happened to Sam Donald these last couple weeks? It lasts three weeks. Lead, a little pressure off, then he plays comfortable.

Obviously, they got skill guys. But as we talk on September 22nd, we've got a long way to go. Like, I mean, we're talking like an MVP candidate. I mean, if you just vote today, he might win it. But, I mean, this guy, and back to the Bears, you go, I don't think the Bears have any chance to not be the fourth best team in this division with what I'm seeing right now. Because these other teams from a coaching,

floor is pulling like a Picasso right now. It's incredible. I mean, they dominated. He had Malik Willis looking like a varsity guy versus Will Levis that looks like a peewee guy. I mean, it's just like not even a fair fight when they just handed you Malik Willis three weeks ago. So it's, that's insane. Obviously, the lines are good. And what Minnesota is doing, once you get to like three and oh or four and one, you can have a two game losing streak and still get the 10 wins pretty easily. You watch the Bears, they look as dysfunctional as a team. I would say as any team in the league, when you just watch them play, you just go, this is not good. And when you watch Minnesota polar opposite, you go, it feels crazy to say, but like, is this an NFC contender? Well, it's funny.

First of all, the three or four things that we think create that. Great head coach. Got it. quarterback playing in an elite level. Donald is. Weapons. Usually there's a great coordinator on a Super Bowl team. D'emico Ryan's, the Niners. So they've got a great coordinator. And then usually, situationally, a good defensive team, there's a pass rusher somewhere.

Well, they're playing good situational defense. So, you know, it sounds crazy. But, you know, if they go 4-0, you can go 500 until week 17, and you're a 10-and-6 team. You go 4-0, you can scuff it. I mean, if you go back to last year, the good, Kansas City had a bad month in November. It's like the Super Bowl year when the Rams won it, they were choppy early with Stafford. Remember two years ago when the Vikings, they ended up losing to the Giants in the first round, but they won the division and they had that crazy record and all those one-score games. Yeah.

I think they went 12 and 5, and they had like a historic record in one-score games, like 12 and 1. and everyone's like, this is smoke and mirrors. This team isn't that good. This team looks completely different than that team. Yes, right? They look real. That team look a little fraudulent. It is, I mean, Sam's, by the time they get toward the big games,

going to keep getting a lot of reps and be really comfortable. And the other thing is your head coach gets to really know what he's good at, what he's not good at. And when you got that good of a defense, it is just, we talk about like a running game and a tight end being a quarterback's best friend. You know what's the quarterback's best friend? when the other team can't score. Right.

And that's what the other team can't do. They can barely move the ball past midfield. The Texans offense has one of the best young quarterbacks we've ever seen. Yeah. Just based on record and stats. They are loaded with skill guys and have a coach that basically everyone has already put into a head coaching position by next year or the next two years in Bobby Seloic. And they got ransacked today. Well, at the end, you know, not only do the Vikings have the components of a really good team.

But I had said this when they, exchanged Darnold. And McCarthy, by the way, who they drafted for Kirk Cousins, they just lacked juice. Like, they can't do anything off script, which is always been, you golf actually ran for a first down in the game stealing play today, which I thought was kind of funny. But by and large, with Kirk Cousins, you can win a lot of games without a quarterback that moves. But Darnold gives them what they were hoping J.J. McCarthy gives them with Kevin O'Connell. He just gives you juice.

Now, Stafford doesn't give you a ton of that, but Matt is as good as Brady pre-snap and throws the prettiest ball, arguably in the league. So when you're that good, Brady in the pocket pre-snap, Brady throws a ball like that. It allows you. And also, Brady and Stafford move great within the pocket. They're great between the tackles. They move constantly. But I, you know, I just, I'm just watching them, and I'm like, the coach, the coordinator, the quarterback, and Darnold, the knock on darn. I always said this. There's a little Andrew Luck, a little, and a little Carson Wentz, and he became a bad version of Carson Wentz, which is he's big, he's strong, he's athletic, he's tough, but Jesus, is he reckless? You take out the reckless from Donald, and I get the

big, strong, tough playmaker. You know, this is why people drafted him early. Yeah, I think last year changed his life. I think, you know, seeing Brock, who's not as talented him, and he even said this, he's like watching the way that guy prepared, and then being around Kyle, who is like, you know, an old school 1980s coach in terms of how he wants things done, I think gave him a whole new perspective on just his football career. And then Kevin O'Connell came through, the Niners wanted to keep him, but they couldn't pay $10 million.

I think I said this last week, and I don't know how I can't say it again, if this continues and they make the playoffs and they win a playoff game, it's not like they traded up like some of these other teams to get JJ. He just fell into their lap, essentially, right? They didn't mortgage three first round picks. do you just let him go? I mean, everyone's like, why do we talk?

These are conversations that you start having. This is a real life thing. JJ's on a cheap contract. He wasn't the number one pick. He was like the 10th or 11th. So his contract's not crazy. Do you extend Sam Darnold if he win 12 games and he's that good with your head? Isn't the whole point of this just to find a quarterback?

Yeah. Right? So it's like you don't just let him hit free agency and go, we'll see you with JJ. Because we're going, we're going, we'll see you with. Caleb, and how's that going? By the way, you could probably get Darnold for him. He's so appreciative of, you know, Sam's made some money in his career. You can get him for a steal.

I had said before the season, let's go to Tampa Bay, Denver clobbers him 26 to 7. And I had sent in the first couple of weeks, I said, listen, Bo Nicks opening against Mike McDonald, the Seahawks crowd, corners, and a pro in Gino Smith, that's a bad open. we go next week, it's the Steelers, and it's like, oh, this is a real defense. Go ask the Chargers today. Today, a Tampa defense that's dinged up, Vita via the back end, Bo Nix, 47 rushing yards, 25 of 36, Denver blew him out, wasn't competitive. Second straight week, I'll say this. I'm not anti-Baker. Second straight week, he was really rough on third down. He was just not moving the chains. Awful interception today on the sideline. Baker is off.

And again, second straight week, they couldn't make crucial plays on third down. But when I watched Bownex today, this is what Sean Payton kept texting me. It's like, you know, it's going to be bumpy. But he moves, you and I talked about this. He moves much better than people think. I'm not, you know, it's like Jalen Hertz isn't fast, but he's elusive. Bo Nix is not quite as elusive, but he's kind of quick. Like he can get to the corner, and I'll say this again.

They're not babying him. Remember Big Ben's first year with Pittsburgh? He'd throw like 16 times a game, even to the Super Bowl. It was like Michigan. Yeah, they just were protecting him. Sean's not protecting him. He threw it like 40-some times against the Steelers. He threw 36 times today.

They're running an offense that you would run with Gino Smith. They don't care. And I said before this season, all these young quarterbacks, Caleb, Jaden, they all have defensive coaches, Drake May. Sean Payton, I think the development of what this. kid is doing is I'm watching him. He made a leap today, John. He looked like a grown-up. Yeah, to me, when you can run the ball and your defense plays well, Sean Payton, like, he's going to learn what I can call and what I can't call for this player and what he's comfortable with. And the only way you learn that is through going through it. Like you said, Seattle looks freaking good.

Yeah. And obviously Pittsburgh's defense is elite. But today felt like the Buccaneers spent all week looking at their record and looking at the Broncos record and we're like, yeah, we're not really going to pay attention. We'll see you on game day. And they just got boat raced. And this is the thing with the NFL. All of a sudden, you're 0 and 2, 0 and 3. Yeah. Teams do not want to get embarrassed. Bob had that awesome play with his legs. You don't turn the ball over. That helps because he's been throwing the ball to the other team. I mean, he's had some passes that also did not get picked that should have been. Yeah. He just looked like in complete control. And you have to wonder, mature guy, a little older, maybe his speed up process.

Like maybe we don't have to wait till December. Maybe within three or four weeks, he's going to look more comfortable. Now, their talent around them when they play the better team, I think they play the Chiefs next week. It's going to get overwhelmed at times. Look at Sean's quotes. He had a quote last week. Like, I feel great about it. We're on face.

That to me speaks to when you get these veteran head coaches, like, what's Iber Fluse going to be able to say? You know, I can lean on my seven playoff appearances. Like, he can't say any of that. And that's where Sean, everyone, we're going to be okay. even though, like, what do you think best case is for them this year? Seven, eight wins? That's best case. Listen, I thought they would.

People said they were five, five and a half. I thought they would get eight. They don't have a consistent pass rush. Bo is still young. They're in a tough division. The charters and the chiefs are really good. So, you know, their schedule is pretty damn formidable. I think if you get to seven and you-

If you get to seven, because I thought they were one of the better over teams, I've always said, I think they're receivers. I think they have more talent on the perimeter. But I think they have more talent on the perimeter. I thought they're running back, make a hell of a run today around the corner. He did a, I forget the name of the player. Sorry about that. I just think Denver's got a little more juice offensively than people give him credit for.

But I just like, and Boe had some bad throws. He had a really, he missed on a couple. But I just, I like what I see. First of all, he's older. He's married. 61 starts, the offensive coach, pretty damn good receivers and backs. This, I think he's got an advantage that the market isn't recognizing between the college starts, the maturity.

I bet he had five coordinators in five years in college. This kid's seen everything. I just, now he may be really close to his ceiling, John. Like this may be, you know, he may be 70% of the ceiling. But I see an athletic guy who's accurate, coachable, gets rid of the ball quickly. if they can improve their offensive line, I think you can, this is a wildcard team potentially

over the next few years. We should do an award every week for Coach of the Week. So Green Bay tags Tennessee, 30 to 14. Crushes them. Matt LaFleur on scripted stuff. Now, you and I know, first couple, first quarters scripted. Green Bay gets 17 points quickly. That's scripted from a,

Willis. Malik, they 190 passing, 188 rushing. The kid goes 13 for 19, a touchdown, no pick. Seven different targets. This is a young team. It's not like he can rely on a veteran third down receiver or he's got a Devonthe Adams. These are all kids.

These are 23-year-old receivers. For them to take Malik Willis, I'm watching today and I'm like, they had almost 400 yards offense. And on the scripted stuff early, that's what worries me about Chicago. They're horrible in their, they're terrible on their first three series. Anemic. It's like, that's the scripted stuff. Green Bay, I mean, I'm Matt LaFleur. You know, for years and years, it was always understood that Aaron and him kind of almost shared offensive duties. Like, Aaron's going to do some of his own stuff. And he'd earn that. I'm good with that.

What he's done with Malik Willis, I mean, I'll say this, one year ago, I mean, Good God. Tennessee got rid of, I mean, they bailed on him. I mean, you almost always just keep a guy, make him a backup. They didn't even want to give him a shot to start. They thought Will Levis was an upgrade. Matt LaFleur is a great football coach. That's my take. They traded him to a team that they were playing three weeks later. I mean, you just never know, right? I mean, you traded him a team that you might have to see, and they probably never even thought twice about it. And within two, if you would have told me two weeks ago, did Malik Willis, looks like everything we thought Anthony Richardson was going to look like. That's the crazy part. I mean, today he's running around. He's obviously been much more accurate than I think anyone anticipated. Give him the game ball last week. He gives it to the entire team. It really is. People, you know, Mike McDaniel is a media favorite. Like he's got Schrager loves him and some of the guys love him. And I get it. He's a nice guy. Might be the most overrated coach in the NFL.

I mean, that look he's got is going to wear thin when he goes five and 12. But LaFleur does not get discussed nearly as much. And part of that, like you said, get a little overwhelmed by Aaron Rogers. Aaron's been gone now for a while. And he had Jordan Love through 33 touchdowns. Jordan Love gets hurt on a night game halfway across the world, comes back and wins two games with a guy that no other team probably would have traded for. And pretty convincingly.

I mean, today they beat the shit out of him on the road. I mean, it's one thing, okay, at home, playing a bed, then you go on the road and win a game with a team that knows this player, like all the defensive players, who do you think they had been seeing for three years of a scout team quarterback? And that thing was, of all the games a day, I mean, that thing truly was not close. It was over fast. And I think LeFloor, I don't want to just throw out the elite status because you've got to win in the playoffs. He did last year, though, and easily could have beat the night. I think LaFleur is easily one of the best young coach. I mean, the way McVeigh, Kyle, Kevin O'Connell,

we got to include LaFleur, and we got to kick Mike out for right now. He hasn't won an important game ever. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping them. muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luke. and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the fly.

He runs up to court. his fingers why he got the ball like after you go through a training camp with that Isaiah you figure it out real quick get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the ball so listen to Point Game on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

wherever you get your podcasts. Hey I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenapausal chin here you do so let's talk about it Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamani Arriva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that?

I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How high can it be getting naked at 50? with the new guy. That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try.

So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva

as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend Janet. And we have been joined at the hips since high school.

Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. Wider. 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 drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard

seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a wrap? Alba. Oh, I would. Come on. Could you believe?

I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky. I'm not an alcoholic. You are.

I'm lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team. And I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, Danny Parkins has gone from the most talented young sports talk radio show host

in the country to one of the co-hosts on Breakfast Ball on FS1, an interesting guy who's got a lot of different thoughts and a lot of different things. And so I'm going to try to bring him on regularly hear on the volume. So obviously when I bring you on, there's Chicago stories and you have real keen insight to Chicago, and it's interesting because I think Caleb Williams is one of the most talented quarterbacks I've ever seen in college. I think there's an Elway, a little Andrew Luck. He's like Josh Allen, he's not consistently accurate out of college. So you have to work on that with Josh Allen. Aaron Rogers was very accurate in college. Certain guys are. That's not what he is.

He is, you got to sandpaper him. And when I talk about the bear's dysfunction, you and I get it, you especially, we tend to think of Detroit, Luserville, and Cleveland. But because Chicago did have one of the great teams ever, and because they had Michael Jordan, and we've had Oprah and Siskel and Ebert, and it's a big city and everybody loves it, you tend to think, oh, the bears are well-funded, the facilities are this, that's the outside. But take the audience to the McCaskies, the dysfunction of this organization since you've been a kid. Yeah, I mean, they got an indoor practice facility with a roof that was high enough where you could punt a football within the last decade. Like, it's a, every other team in the league had it.

So multiple practice facilities, like John Fox, to his credit, did kind of bring them forward, him and Ryan Pace of like, hey, we need to upgrade these things. But like, that's 2017 we're talking about here. So just in terms of the investment, the practice facilities, I mean, the old thing on the McCaskies back with the 85 bears was that they would throw around, you know, nickels like manhole covers. Like it's, it is a historically cheap organization. They are owners that inherited it, right? It's a charter heritage franchise. But so their wealth is the bears. Right.

They're not, they're not an oil tycoon. They're not real estate magnets. Their wealth is in this valuation of a football team that they don't have hundreds and hundreds of millions. of dollars just sitting in cash from some other business. They're not the Walmart people. And so it is it's a big family. It's a dysfunctional family. It's been passed down. There's like nine siblings. Some of them have no interest in football whatsoever and want to get out and want to cash in and liquidate. George McCasky, who's kind of the face of it now, is self-admittedly just a fan. He's like, I know nothing about football. It's like, George, you've been doing this forever.

like either learn something about football or stop saying or stop saying that you don't know anything about football because then you're like in the meetings hiring all these people. So there's been there's countless examples of the historic dysfunction and the cheapness with the bears. I do think it's gotten a lot better in the last five to 10 years and the money has gotten so crazy with the national television contracts that it's harder to be cheap. there are some ways still they were not going to hire Jim Harbaugh.

That was never going to happen. They were not going to give someone $20 million a year, $15 million a year with that type of go in celebrity. They were just not prepared to do it. And that is a huge bummer because he wanted to be the Bears coach or he was at least very intrigued

by being the Bears coach for the last like two hiring cycles. So it holds them back in some ways for sure. Ryan Poles, I think, is really smart. And I think he's been a very good hire overall. I would not have kept Matt Eberfluse. I think that was a mistake when they got the number one draft pick with Caleb Williams. I would have lined up Caleb Williams with the best offensive head coach you could get.

Because my thing was like, by definition, you are limiting your talent pool. Like you're only able to hire coordinators for Caleb who then could leave to go be head coaches somewhere else. Whereas if you fire Matt Eberfluse, I think Ben Johnson leaves Detroit. That would have been pretty good. If you don't get Harbaugh, Ben Johnson, he leaves your division rival and he comes and coaches Caleb. That's a pretty good spot to be in. So I thought keeping Iber flus was a mistake. And where they're, what I'm afraid of right now is not Caleb Williams.

I think his talent is so undeniable that he actually will be able to overcome some of the think of the Bears. We've seen that before. Like Josh Allen, to use your example, he's had a defensive head coach in Sean McDermott. He's had one guy who was maybe a borderline top five receiver and Stefan Diggs. Other than that, not much in terms of elite playmakers. Just got a run game.

Just got one this year. Yeah, and that's his what. I mean, he had Dable and Dorsey. And now he's got Brady. So he's had three different play callers, defensive head coach. terrible drafters, took him a couple of years. But the talent was on deniable that he got there.

So the chargers have changed over a bunch with Justin Herbert, bad coaches, different play callers. He hasn't won big, but as a talent, has overcome it. So I think Caleb is going to be fine. What I am worried about, though, is when it was John Fox with Mitch Trubisky, everyone knew that Fox was not going to be the guy for Mitch long term but they didn't want to fire him a year early

and pay him to go away so it was John Fox and Dowell Loggins for a year of Mitch Trubisky then they fired the whole staff and hired Matt Nagy so now it's two systems in two years and that put Mitch Trubisky behind the eight ball and then they did the exact same thing

with Justin Fields he was there for one year of Matt Nagy and then they fired him and they moved on to the next guy. And so then Justin Fields had two systems in two years, went from Matt and Aggie to Luke Getsy. So now you're learning two different offenses, two different play callers,

two different sets of ideas and fundamentals. And so if this doesn't work, and you end up firing Iberfluse and Shane Waldron, it will be the exact same thing that you did to your last two first round pick quarterbacks. And that just, I don't care who it is. It stunts your development to not have continuity of coaching. So I'm not worried about the talent.

I am absolutely worried about the coaching around him. And the line is clearly regressing and even worse than it was supposed to be. But I think a lot of that is also Shane Waldron. Because, and I'm, I'm giving you a long answer, but you wanted all of the context. Yeah. They were the second ranked rushing team in the NFL last year. Yeah. It's the four of the five offensive linemen are the exact same.

And in theory, they upgraded at center, though it looks like they maybe somehow downgraded, and Ryan Bates has been hurt. But that's not all Justin Fields. That's right. Haleel Herbert was a five-yard per carry guy. So, like, I would have told you coming into the year, Kevin Jenkins, their left guard, Nate Davis, their right guard when he plays, and Darnell right their right tackle, who was the 10th overall pick, all better run blockers than pass blockers.

And they're the worst running team in the NFL. Yes. There's no question the O line has significantly regressed. And most of those guys were young ascending players. Right. And so to me, I don't believe that these guys just forgot how to run block. That's right. I think that there's something in, and I'm not able to tell you what it is.

But I think Shane Waldron clearly is not doing a good job. Another example. Week one, Gerald Everett out snapped Cole Komet. That makes no sense. It makes no... Cole Comette, top 10 tight end in the NFL, for sure, young, athletic, good blocker, good pass catcher, coming off the best season of his career, homegrown kid under contract in his athletic prime. That made no sense.

And they corrected it in week two and week three and week three at a monster game, but it's like, how do I know more about the personnel of the bears than Jane Waldron does? And I get that there's a learning curve, but come on, man, you're a professional. coach making seven figures. So I think Shane Waldron's been a disaster through three weeks, and I hope that he can correct it. I don't talk Cowboys as much, mostly because the lead in, yeah, and I'm not, it just doesn't interest me. But it is interesting that the Lakers and the Cowboys have become sort of the same business, where the brand is way better than the product, and that they're basically a family business. I mean, the Lakers are run by Kobe's agent,

And I know Kurt Rambes and like him, but the Rambus family's involved. It is a lot of people close to the bus family. And that's the same thing. It's Charlotte Jones. It's Stephen Jones. It's Jerry Jones. There's not a lot of outside influence. But they're remarkable brands.

I don't think the Lakers are, I think Anthony Davis is just fantastic. I thought last year he was easily the best defensive player in the league and, you know, Rudy Gober or whatever. But I don't think they're a championship team. They just don't have, they're not close. These teams like Boston have like eight really good players, seven really good players. But I look at the Cowboys and it's this, what I'm about to say is really insane. Oh, good.

If you really take a deep breath, the Cowboys have not won multiple playoff games in any year in 29 years. Now, just think of that. that's not a big ask. The NFC, the last four, they've had good quarterback play. Romo and Dak are B plus to a minus quarterback. They're very good quarterback play. In the Kirk Cousins mode,

they've had offensive coaches who were more than competent. I mean, I've had some offensive coaches. And I'm always fascinated by really successful people, Jerry Jones, that have a blind spot that is so obvious. the radio hits, the fact that he wants to be called GM. And I'm like, Jerry, you're this oil maverick. You're a brilliant businessman. He and Stan Cronky are two of the smartest guys in the league.

Other owners lean on Jerry. Does he not get how dysfunctional? I mean, they really, they always lead the NFL in retaining their own draft picks. And so is it ego? Is it a blind spot? Jerry's vanity and personality, I'm fascinated when I see like Elon Musk similarly. Does he not see what he is? Well, listen.

Are they sociopathic, you know? Yeah, I think you've probably met a lot more billionaires than I have. You know a lot of normal ones? It's not a, it's not a, you get into this like stratosphere of. ego, entitlement, you literally own the building. It's just, you know, it's just, it has to warp your sense of reality and things that makes sense. But I do think that the media sometimes gets it wrong with, with Jerry.

And I'm not saying he's crazy like a fox or that like everything is calculated. But he likes it. Chaos is his fuel. he does not believe that us talking about C.D. Lambs contract and Dak Brescott's contract and Mike McCarthy's contract and his radio appearances and weird things that he says, he does not believe that that has any impact on wins and losses. He doesn't. And in fact, he probably thinks that it has an absolute impact on the ratings that they get on Sunday night football. And at 425, on Sunday on Fox. And he very well might be right because they are, everyone cares about him.

You might hate him. You might love him. But the numbers bear out. People care about him. So I think that he is feeding the sports take industrial complex. Because it's oxygen for him. He wants to be relevant. He wants to be talked about.

It's clearly an ego play. But also it programs a lot of airtime. And that has to be good for business. He, I guarantee he subscribes to the all publicity is good publicity mantra. We're talking about him. And that's making him money, either directly or indirectly.

So that's what. And by the way, I also think, and I said this on the first week of breakfast ball because we were on before the season started, I was like, these contracts all get done. No one holds out anymore.

Like they, not really. Yeah. Jonathan Taylor for a game. Melvin Gordon for four games, Chris Jones for a game. Post-Levon Bell, no one actually holds out. They're like, oh, they should have signed Dak Prescott early. Dat didn't want to sign early.

Dak wanted TWA to sign first. He wanted Jordan Love to sign first because that just gave him more money. C.D. Lamb wanted A.J. Brown to sign first. He wanted Devante Smith. to sign first. He wanted Justin Jefferson to sign first because they know that they have the Cowboys over a barrel because Dak had a no-tagged clause and a no-trade clause. And C.D. Lamb got 180 targets last year. If C.D. Lamb isn't on the Cowboys, they go from the highest scoring team in the league to awful. He matters more to Dallas than any non-quarterback matters

to their offense more than Christian McCaffrey. Yeah. more than Tyreek Hill. Yeah. So, like, I just, I think chaos is part of the formula to the popularity in Dallas. And I think it's all by design. So I played a game today with JMAQ on the air. And we were talking about Deshawn Watson. And I said, Deshaun Watson has, is considered a star.

But if you had a minute 30 left in a game, one time out and had to go 70 yards. doable. Same players. Would you take Gardner Minchew or Deshawn Watson to be your quarterback? And I said, I'd take Gardner Minchew because he moves about as well as Deshaun. He plays with more confidence and I think he's more accurate. And he's like, no, that's crazy. And so we got into talking about this.

And I said, Jaden Daniels or Trevor Lawrence. And I said, here's what I know about Jaden Daniels. He moves better than Trevor. He appears to be more accurate than Trevor. And I love Trevor Lawrence. But I have seen him now. That Buffalo game was at least the first half, a standalone game. Dude, he missed the crossing route that is a, any college quarterback can make it effortlessly.

He missed a pass in a flat that he was low and behind him. And I said, he's too loose. I said, he looks like a quarterback that if you said, hey, you want to go golf Friday afternoon or watch more film? He'd choose golf. He's too talented to be that loose and bad on the layups. It's not mechanical because he was great in high school. He was great in college and he was, he's shown signs.

You put Trevor Lawrence out there right now, minute 30 in a game. I would take Kirk Cousinsh over him. I think I'd take Gardner Minshue over. I'm not joking on Trevor Lawrence. No, I think that it is totally fair. I do think that you can lose your mechanics. You brought up, clearly. You brought up golf, right?

Golfers do. Yeah. Yeah, any golfer will tell you that you can lose your mechanics, you can lose your swing. So I do think it is in play that Trevor Lawrence is, I mean, hell, Mahomes said it this week that he doesn't think that he, his mechanics are completely locked in, that he's relying too much on his arm. Yeah, not his feet.

Right. not with his feet and his footwork. So I do think that when you have an arm like Trevor Lawrence, which is a top 10 arm in the NFL, it makes it possible that you lose your fundamentals a little bit more. And so I don't think they're going to bench him. Like Doug Peterson was like, anything's on the table.

I don't think it is. I don't think you're benching a $250 million quarterback, but I do think that you need to be working on footwork fundamentals and breaking him down a little bit. Deshawn Watson in week one looked like he forgot how to play football. We charted it. He had six passes that landed out of bounce.

They were just like straight, not catchable balls. And then that's not including air mailing guys, throwing it at their feet, turtling up. So I think he's regressed. I mean, he's been a little bit better since. But he's regressed terribly. Trevor Lawrence has regressed. terribly. And Minchu,

it's just funny you bring him up. What I've always said about him is like, he's going to go down swinging. Like, he's a fun quarterback to watch. And he's confident. Yes. Oh, and like, delusional confidence. Like, he will,

he believes he can make every throw. It's like Mario Chalmers when he was on the heat and he had teammates that were LeBron, Bosch, and Wade. And he was like, why don't you ever draw up the final play for me? And it's like, I had a pretty big shot at Kansas in the final four. It's like, yeah, buddy, but that's Dwayne Wade.

You know what I mean? Like, your gardener minshue. Why do you think you can make that throw? But like one out of two or three times, he can make it. And so he does it. So he's a fun guy to watch. But I will say too, man, it's hard. Quarterback play in the NFL is very clearly hard. It's hard to project. It's hard to pay. It's hard to be consistent in. And so that's also why, and this isn't what you asked about, but I'm going to say it anyway. Everyone being surprised by Josh Allen, it bothers me. He is clearly the second best quarterback in football. And he has been for a couple of years now.

Yeah. Yards, touchdowns, wins since 2020. He's second in wins. He's second in yards. And he's first in touchdowns. Alder Mahomes. You look at their numbers. Now, it's regular season.

Mahomes obviously has him in the postseason, undeniable. But Yards, touchdowns wins. He's two, two, and one in terms of ranks since 2020. And he doesn't have Andy Reid. He didn't have Tyreek Hill. He didn't have Travis Kelsey. He is a remarkable football player. And so be like, I'm so surprised that Josh Allen is doing this this year.

Why? Because he lost Gabe Davis and Stefan Diggs who like wit the last seven games of last season. Like it's just we need to do a better job, I think, of like, oh, you're not Mahomes so we can like pick you apart and criticize you. I'm not saying no criticism is fair. Mahomes has thrown three terrible interceptions this year, four total. Like obviously anybody can be criticized. But like if you've got a problem with Josh Allen at quarterback. then the only guy you're allowed to like is Mahomes. It's the only, it's a really hard position to be consistently great at.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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,

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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows, without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. that man, hell get the flying, he running up the court,

licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players

and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the Hipsons High School. Absolutely. Now a redacted,

amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. 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 drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar something here? Just take it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? I would. Come on. How did you believe? I would buy it.

Cut through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You're lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that?

was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How hard can it be? How can't be naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard, no? Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, time for another edition of Sharper Square.

Chad Millman, CCO, Action Network, all of our odds provided by Draft Kings. All right, this is an interesting week. So I usually feel first couple of weeks, I'm kind of feeling it out. I never used to feel that way. But because nobody plays anybody in preseason, fewer padded practices. I kind of feel like the Jetson week one offensively are awful. Then all of a sudden you watch them and you're like, wow, they lead the NFL in third down percentage. Like stuff happens fast because either Sean McVeigh, fewer padded practices.

I'm not going to play any starters. But I do feel like I have, I kind of feel like I have, I got my feet beneath me on the league. But this is an instructive moment. And I'll tell you, I want to start with this because part of why I like doing Sharper Square, I like teaching myself stuff and the audience. So I really liked the Jets early in the week at minus six and a half. I think it's a bad spot for a rookie quarterback, traveling, going back. I get a veteran extra rest.

This is a bad spot for Bo Nix. I thought Tampa I picked him in that week. That was a good spot. And with rookie quarterbacks, it's a lot of where you land and how the schedule looks. Same with rookie coaches, New England on a Thursday night, bad spot off an overtime game. So I liked the Jets a lot. And now it's seven and a half. And I don't bet teams.

I bet numbers in this league. So now I like Denver. And just because of a point swing. So just as a point of instruction, how do the wise guys view that game? Well, they're going to bet Denver at seven and a half. And that's sort of what they've been waiting for. What you're doing naturally because you've been watching football and thinking about this for a long time, is looking at the number seven.

It's a key number, right? And the game, key numbers mean that's the number, that's the delta between the two scores that a lot of games land on. In the NFL, 7, 4, 3, 2, with the extra point changes the past couple years, those are now the key numbers, and those are the ones that wise guys

want to get on the right side of. So you liked New York, at six and a half because it was on the right side of that key number of seven. You like Denver on the seven and a half because now you're on the right side of seven for Denver. So that is the delta, by the way, and that is the very, very thin line between success and failure. We're talking about a half a point in your logic, but that is the difference between winning and losing in so many of these games. So another point I'm going to reflect on this, because this week I don't have as strong as a conviction on games, but I'm fascinated by why a number is.

So about once a week, there is a number I don't understand. Last week, it was Seattle and Miami. I had a winning week. I didn't get the number. Skyler Thompson against Mike McDonald's defense. That felt like a blowout to me. It's a hard place to play for Tua. Miami doesn't play well west or north, usually. They're just a different team. So the Steelers minus one and a half going to be four and O, best defense arguably in the league, against a quarterback who is in a T-Bow level 49% completion percentage. I talked to an executive this week. He said his tapes as bad as a thrower as anybody he remembers. So I look at it and I think that number doesn't make sense. It should be Steelers minus two, two and a half to three.

I would take Pittsburgh, but the market's confusing me. Explain the line. The market is confusing you. because the Steelers are undefeated. They opened as two-point favorites, and the line has moved in the direction of the Indianapolis cults. And what's more, what you can see in a lot of places and most operators offer this, Draft Kings does as well,

you can usually see the betting tickets and the betting money. Tickets means that the squares are coming in on a side. money means that the professionals are coming in and aside. The delta on this game is squares on the Steelers, money on the professionals. The line usually moves, I mean money on the cults, professionals on the cults. The line usually moves in the direction of the money.

That tells you what the professionals are doing. The reason that's happening in this game is because, A, Mike Tomlin is historically great as a road underdog and historically bad as a road favorite. They are also not believing in Justin Fields right now. They love the Steelers defense. They know if the Steelers get up,

that T.J. Watt is going to slam the door closed, and that's when he's amazing. But it's not like they're dominating teams, and if you even look at that Chargers game, it's 10-10 with a one-legged Justin Herbert, and it doesn't become a Steelers win until Justin Herbert is out of the game. Now they're going on the road

in a game that should probably be picked based on the talent levels. And the strength of the Colts is not going to be Anthony Richardson throwing or trying to evade T.J. Watt. It's going to be what this offensive line, which is one of the top-rated run blocking and top-rated pass-blocking lines in the league,

can do to get Jonathan Taylor free in the open field. So that's why the wise guys like this matchup. They're getting a home underdog and an overvalued favorite. Okay, let's get into my picks. This line initially, I felt like Chicago was the play. It's now up to plus three. It's a coach quarterback league. It wasn't, the Rams won this game basically on special teams, but now they have both their tackles back. The interior offensive line is now played together for three games. So have these receivers. So the Niners,

were missing elements. But I don't trust Iber Fluse or Shane Waldron. I'm not giving up a field goal to just a winning culture to one that's trying to find their way. Bears are getting better, but I'll play the number, Rams plus three, sharper square. Yeah, at three, it's sort of in the middle.

We just talked about key numbers. If this game gets up to three and a half, the wise guys will play the Rams. But it opened at one. and the wise guys played the one, the one and a half, the two, the two and a half, and now it's at three. And their logic here is very much by low, sell high, right? You just talked about last week with four minutes and 57 seconds left in that game against the Niners, the Rams had a 5% chance to win that game.

They needed every single thing to go right in that game, and it did. The Niners could not advance the ball, deeper, into the Rams side of the field. They missed a 55-yard field goal. The Rams scored in three straight plays. The next series, the 49ers can't advance the ball. They punt. The Rams get a great punt return. They get three penalties on one play, including a 28-yard pass interference. They win the game. The Bears, meanwhile, couldn't have played worse. Caleb Williams was confusing Colts defenders for Bears receivers. They were truly terrible. They had no running game, right? 25 seconds left in the third quarter. They're still down 7 to 3 when the Colts scored a

touchdown to go 14 to 3. Five minutes left in that game, they're still down 14 to 9. They had a chance to keep winning that game. Their pass rush is elite. Their defense is getting better and better. You have to assume in this game that the bears are not as bad as they were, which is what the wise guys think, and the Rams cannot replicate that kind of luck no matter who's back on the field. All that said, your statement about Sean McVeigh and Matthew Stafford versus Iber Fluse and Caleb Williams is the one reason. I've talked about this game all week. It is the one reason why I have heard wise guys saying, I'm kind of hesitating.

Those who are in are in, but those who are hesitating are hesitating because of that exact reason. All right, I'm going to take the Packers minus two and a half at home against the Vikings. The Vikings are playing really well. But they've always been a little better at home than on the road. Also, Green Bay is winning without Jordan Love. The team is gaining confidence. Jordan Love is a massive step up. I also think Green Bay this year, for the first time in recent memory, is kind of a ball hawking defense that's creating turnovers.

Sam Darnold historically will give you opportunities. So at minus two and a half, Green Bay at home, I don't think people quite understand the coaching job winning with Malik Willis and looking good with Malik Willis. These aren't fluke wins. I would swallow the two and a half take Green Bay Sharper Square. Yeah, this is a really tricky one because there is just universal split on this one. It went to two. It was at two. It got up to two and a half.

It got up to three. The wise guys took the three, bet it down to two and a half. You'll see it bouncing around back and forth. Everybody has an opinion on this game, and they are very strongly on Minnesota, very strongly on Greenback. I can't give you a definitive answer. You could be right. Wise guys could be right. What's interesting in this game, I agree with you.

Matt LaFleur has been a genius in this scenario, and you have to credit what he has done with Malik Willis. You also have to credit Kevin O'Connell, what he has done with Sam Donald, to make him look like an MVP-worthy quarterback. to get his team undefeated. You have to credit Brian Flores, whose team is number one defensively in DVOA and make Brock Purdy and C.J. Stroud look mediocre to bad in two upsets for this team against quarterbacks who are really good against the blitz.

Then there's one stat that keeps sticking in my craw. Teams that are short home favorites in divisional games, 45% against the spread. since 2016. So I am completely torn on this game. I lean Minnesota. I'm hoping it gets back to three. I like Seattle plus three and a half at the Lions. Lions are missing their top center. Byron Murphy, the really, really good defensive tackle, number one pick for the Seahawks, has elevated a defensive front. I think one of the things about Seattle, I think they're one of the best coach teams in the league right now on the defensive side. I don't quite feel like they finally figured out their offense last week with Detroit, 35 carries, Montgomery and Gibbs.

But you're not going to run like that on Seattle. Seattle has been playmakers. Detroit's always susceptible. If you can block Hutchison, Detroit's always susceptible to big plays. Three and a half is too big of a number. Gino completes 74% of his throws. This is a highly competent offense. Efficient, competent, and occasionally explosive.

I don't trust. the lions here, sharper square. Yeah, wise guys still like the Seahawks here. If you can get the hook, that's what they're playing. The line is moved in their direction, even though it's Detroit at home inside when they are historically great against the spread. It went from four and a half down to four. Now it's at three and a half.

All the things you said, there is some sort of hesitation because who have the Seahawks really beaten, right? Right. Like they beat up Skyler Thompson. and Tim Boyle, they beat up Jacoby Brissette. And by the way, the pass played tough in that game. And if you look at the spread, it was a push. They beat up Bo Nix in his first game.

And by the way, the Broncos came back at the end of that game, and it was a push. So I'm not fully bought in on the Seahawks. They have been one of those teams. Professional betters have liked since before the season began. The number play is the Seahawks. But it's not like a slam dunk for me. And finally, there are games sometimes I just like to watch.

Bill's getting two and a half at the Ravens. Bill's in a short week. I said this. The Ravens are a toe away from just having one really bad loss and crushing Dallas and beating the Chiefs. I like Baltimore. They had to replace a coordinator and some offensive linemen. I think that stuff, especially on the O-line, takes time. I think the Ravens cover here, sharper square.

Totally sharp. Wise guys are on the Ravens. That's the play. It's scary, right? You're going to be betting against Josh Allen, who is wicked right now and is now the odds on favorite to win the MVP after what he did to the Jags on Monday night. I mean, he was fierce, right?

His passes were pinpoint. He was running through. the middle of that Jaguars line. But I do think that the value is on Lamar Jackson, who's 21 and 7 as a short favorite or an underdog. It's a really good spot for the Ravens. Their defensive backline against the rush, they're getting a little bit better.

I think the big fear is like, what are they going to do when Josh Allen is scrambling and improvising? They haven't proven to be able to really defend against that. Right now, we saw the couch. boys come back, but Ravens are definitely the right side. The volume. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate, and review.

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 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. On the podcast, reality with the kids.

King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, M&T, everybody's talking about. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Rivera, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. filtered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me? Or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes?

They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Therapy is fantastic. But once again, it does not have a monopoly on healing. That's why I create the resources. why create the community because I really just want you to have more access. On the podcast, Cultivating HerSpace, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. It's tough because we're suppressing our emotions and so many of us are like high achieving individuals. Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.