The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Cowboys, Aaron Rodgers, Jon Gruden, Cam Newton, & the Herd Hierarchy

Episode Date: November 5, 2019

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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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 harmed. you just understood. 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. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app,

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Oh, man, we are packed today. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles on Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1 next hour. Akeed to lead on those Super Bowl Patriot teams, Denver teams,

Ram teams, Andrew Whitworth stops by today, one of the best guys and pro bowlers, left tackles in the NFL. Reggie Bush stops by. College football. It's got a playoff unveiled tonight. That's going to be fantastic. And Joy Taylor is joining me one hour from now, by the way. I unveil my herd hierarchy. We have so many quality teams in the NFL. There are excellent teams, excellent teams, not even in the top 10. Joy's joining me. Joy, how are you? I'm great.

Good morning. Good morning. You know, I think we are, um, what do people expect from the Dallas Cowboys? Let me ask you this. They just won 37 to 18. on the road and Dak Press got through for three touchdowns. And I'm watching Cowboy fans complain last night and I'm watching Twitter and people are all worked up and they... Okay, they're not San Francisco. All right. Who is except the 49ers?

They didn't surrender a touchdown to the Saints. I think the Saints are probably the second best team in the league. Never lost with Teddy Bridgewater. May not lose again with Drew Breeze. What do you want? I don't understand it. I just, this weekend, I watched. New England get rolled and Green Bay get smoked.

This year I've seen Philly, a team I like a lot, get destroyed two or three times. Baltimore got ambushed at home by Freddie Kitchens in Cleveland. Kansas City was mauled at home with Patrick Mahomes against the Colts. Carolina, not competitive on the road against San Francisco. Rams, a couple of ugly losses. These are teams I like. What do you want from Dallas? This reminds me of air travel in America.

I never understand why we treat airline employees so bad. I can get on a flight in Los Angeles. I can fly to New York in five hours. I can text Wi-Fi. I get free movies that have to pay and go to a theater. I get cocktails. The Delta employees are nice. We've never bumped into another plane in the sky or hit a mountain.

I don't understand why everybody's complaining. How long would it take in a train? How many days would it take in a car? Five hours, I can wake up in L.A. and be staring at a beautiful Empire State building in New York. Five hours later. All people do is complain about air travel. I get free movie.

What do you want, a five-star meal? We're 33,000 feet in the air. You're right up there with a moon. I get everything I want. It's the same with the Cowboys. Dak Prescott. What do you want? they've had one ugly loss, Jets.

And then they rebounded by destroying Philadelphia the next week. Once again, they're good. They're a very good football team. Excellent football team. 37-18 on the road. I'm looking at these stats. They're first and total offense. They're second in third-down defense and first-and-third-down offense.

What do you want? We've got a salary cap and free agency. Who's great in this league? San Francisco? San Francisco struggled against Arizona, struggled against Mason Rudolph, they struggled against Washington, they struggled against Tampa, and that's the dominant team. And I don't know what you want with that Prescott, but who would the Cowboys be a big underdog today in the NFL at San Francisco and at New England? Probably a touchdown underdog.

Really? That's not good enough for you? I mean, let's go to my trusted Super Bowl bubble. And every time, there's always in my mind, there's always eight teams that I think can win the Super Bowl. Right now it's New England, Baltimore, San Francisco, Kansas City when they get my home, Saints, Dallas, Green Bay, and Houston. And then I think, Minnesota, Seattle, Philly, Rams, Carolina, they're dangerous. Dallas is in my Super Bowl bubble. Once again, they're winning a lot.

They're five and three in their. the excellent NFC. This is not the AFC where there's like Gimmy wins over Miami and Gimmy wins over the Jets and there's a lot of Gimmy wins in the AFC. Miami's tanking. Cincinnati's tanking. This is the NFC.

I mean, we think Tampa's bad. Go ask Seattle how bad they are. Go ask Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson how lousy Tampa is. They all sorts of pro bowlers on offense. Dax's 5 and 3. Dax on pace to go 10 and 6 in the F.

Win their division. Air travel and the Cowboys. I can't figure out what you want. Dallas is 37 and 19 with DAC. Two division titles and a playoff win. That's in the same division with Russell Wilson. Same division with Pete Carroll and Aaron Rogers and Carson Wends. All these Pro Bowl quarterback, Sean McVeigh, and Kyle Shanahan, all these genius coaches.

I think Dallas is a good football team. I think they won big last night. I think they'll win a lot of games. I think they'll finish. I predicted 9 and 7. That's what it feels like to me. Week 17, they'll be vying for a playoff spot in a loaded NFC. And I'm watching last night.

Well, now, I have one major concern with Dallas. And I'll address that after the break. But let me go to something else. You know through the years, despite what you read on Twitter, I do like Aaron Rogers. he can be condescending. I've seen family members and teammates multiple call him out. So I'm not the only person that thinks that. He's got brothers, family, teammates. He can rub the wrong way. He can be a little arrogant. He can be a little condescending. But I think he's great. And right now I'd probably

put him second, third in the MVP race. First ballot Hall of Famer. I've always said I like Aaron more than Brett Fav. I think he's more of a thinking man's quarterback, a little less risky. I like Aaron over Fav, and I think that's probably a minority opinion in America. So for all those who think I don't like Aaron Rogers, it's true. I think he can be a little passive aggressive for my taste. I think he's thin-skinned like Kevin Durant, and he just doesn't like being criticized, and for 10 years nobody criticized him except me, and now there's been other people to jump on board.

But I'll tell you the, I tell you the Aaron Rogers I like, not just that he throws great, and he's a wizard and all stuff. When he's honest, and he's honest tactfully, I mean, there's ways. to be honest with your wife or your husband, but you have to be tactful. And he was very tactful and brutally honest. He didn't name names. He didn't get personal talking about the Packers' atrocious performance in Los Angeles against the Chargers on Sunday.

We've got to be, you know, honest with our, you know, our routine and decisions we made the last 48 hours and make sure that our heads and, you know, our heads. the right place the next time we come on a big road trip. You don't have to squint to see what he's saying. The Packers have young receivers, young running backs, and a young defense. And they came out early Friday, and they partied too much. Now, Aaron Rogers has a house in Los Angeles. It's no big deal.

But for a lot of those Packers, 85%, they've never been to L.A. And there's two cities in America that are a major distraction for pro athletes. Miami and L.A. Remember a couple years ago? The Steelers went to Miami, a very good Steelers team. Went down, lost 30 to 15 to an average Miami team, and Steelers were barfing on the field. They had too much rum the night before.

There are betters in Major League Baseball that bet baseball games. It's called the Miami Advantage. You look at teams, young teams, third game in a three-game series in Miami after they win the second game, party, third game, nobody shows up. Everybody's got a hangover. Listen, the Green Bay Packers, a very young team with a young coach and young receivers and young backs and young defensive players, came to Los Angeles and partied hard. And Aaron Rogers called him out.

He basically said, don't have to squint to see it. We've run the bite again. He's basically telling you the two days we were in Los Angeles, we got to do a better job being grownups. We've got to be honest with our routine and decisions we made the last 48 hours and make sure that our heads in the right place next time we come on a big road trip. That is as honest and as forthright as you can be. He didn't name names, never got personal.

He just said 48 hours, we screwed off. We didn't take it seriously. The more you examine those quotes, the more I appreciate Aaron. Rogers. I saw Pittsburgh do it in Miami. I've seen baseball teams. The Houston Rockets went to Miami this weekend, and they trailed the Miami heat 54 to 17. Too much vodka, too much rum. South Beach flu. South Beach flu. And this was the L.A. flu. And Aaron called him out. And he called him out the right way. Big broad message for the coach to hear, the players to hear, the GM to hear, the city to hear, the media to hear. But he did it with class. Didn't point any fingers. Just a big broad message. Time to

grow up. We want to beat the Saints. We want to beat the Ravens. We want to beat the Patriots. Because I saw Baltimore last year with Lamar Jackson come out to L.A. And it was a business trip. They crushed the Chargers. I was there. That was a business trip. This was party time for the Packers and they paid a price. Coming up next, there is one thing about Dallas that I can't get passed. And it's been happening now for about seven, eight years. I can't get past it. saw it again last night, and it's not a thing, and I think it's the one thing that worries me, really the only thing that worries me about this football team that's coming up. 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

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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 Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A ref, ref, my mom wants you. to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama

want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms.

So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the Hipson's 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 color or something here? Just take it What are y'all doing? Microphones are you making a rap album Oh I would Come on Could you imagine? 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'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.

Tommy John believes in the three F's, fabric fit and function. obsess over every stitch. Lightweight fabrics. I wear it. Tommyjohn.com code heard. 20% off your first order, Tommyjohn.com. So I watched Dallas win last night,

and everybody complains, and I watch them, and I think they won 3718, on the road, DAC three touchdowns, had a bad pick, welcome to the NFL. It's not college football, right?

This is the way the NFL works. I just saw Green Bay and New England get rolled this weekend. Baltimore get rolled. at home against Cleveland. You just don't know. That's why betting is hard. I can pick winners all weekend, but against the spread, good Lord.

It's tough. And so there is one thing about Dallas that concerns me. If you and I were lawyers and I had twice as much time to prepare for the case as you, I'm not a very good lawyer if I can't beat you. If you and I are college students and you have twice as much time to prepare for the mid-term, term as I do, you better get a better grade than me or I'm a lot smarter than you. The Dallas Cowboys once again off a buy came out completely flat against a bad team. That's what worries me about Dallas. Jason Gerridoff buys is five and five.

Last year off a buy, they got drilled by Tennessee, a pretty average team. This year off a buy, man, that was a bad first quarter. I watched Freddie Kitchens off a buy this year. 13 penalties. Two coaches this weekend came off a buy. John Harbaugh, who is 10 and 2 all time, came out firing, 17-0 lead over New England, only four penalties. Dallas came out of a buy, sluggish, 10 penalties, bad start,

kind of not quite sure what their identity was. when I looked at Harbaugh schematically confused with a young quarterback Bill Belichick and I watched Jason Garrett with Dak who's now not really that young of a quarterback I think it's not a DAC issue because Dak was fine in the second half that's what worries me about Dallas he's the lawyer that gets extra prep time still doesn't make a difference He's the kids studying twice as long for a midterm, and he still gets a C plus to a B minus. That's what worries me. I always look at college football coaches' bowl records.

What are you when I give you a month to prepare? Lou Holtz, Barry Alvarez, Urban Meyer, Dabo Sweeney. The great coaches have great records off a buy. Extra time. I mean, go look at Andy Reid's record off a buy. Belichick, John Harbaugh, Sean Payton, all the coaches. coaches in the NFL, Pete Carroll, that you think are excellent schematic guys. I saw Kyle Shanahan off a by this year.

He went 31 to 3. I saw Harbaugh off a buy. And by the way, Kyle Shanahan off a buy against the Cleveland team, that game was over four minutes in. And you felt like New England, Baltimore was over six minutes in, eight minutes in. They'd taken total control. So that is what worries me about the Cowboys. Frank Reich this year, would Jacoby Versette off a buy, beat Deshaun Watson in Houston

and really outplayed him. So if you're going to complain about something, Dak is what he is. He's a good beat quarterback. Jason Garrett, is it going to matter if he plays a wins the division, gets a buy, playoff game at home?

I don't feel like it helps him. He's a 500 coach off a buy. That worries me, and it's not going away. Now, Jerry talked this morning, Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys, talked this morning about what he thinks Dallas has to work on. I'll assure you that every individual out there, certainly as a position group, every position group, they're going to be working on focus, focus, focus, because everybody on this team knows that we've got a good team.

And we've got a chance to really be right there competing with the very best as we get down the end of this thing. And a real good chance. But we won't have a chance if we continue to make these mistakes. Yeah. Jason Gary worries me. I don't think he's bad. I mean, he's solid. And if you look at the last four coaches left in football last year,

it was Belichick, Sean Payton, Andy Reed, and Sean McVeigh. Those were the four coaches left last year in football. The four last coaches, all A-Coches. One-A-plus, one-A-minus, but A-coaches. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd-line news. Here's some interesting news. The Chargers are supposed to be moving into a new $4.5 billion stadium next season that they will share with the Rams. Well, according to the athletic, the possibility of the Chargers moving to London has been broached amongst league personnel. A high-ranking NFL official said about the move, some would be happy, but all of them are concerned. That's the owners about them in L.A. So I think they would get support. Chargers under Gene Spanos said were fully committed and focused on Los Angeles.

and look forward to continuing to build our fan base as we transition into our new stadium. But apparently the Chargers would at least listen if the NFL approached them about London as a possible option. The NFL's chief strategy and growth officers said the move is definitely in the realm of possibility. And they would likely move into the NFL-ready Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And that would offer all of the monetary benefits that would be necessary to be competitive financially with the other 31 teams. I always think this is a smokescreen. What the NFL wants, this is why they keep putting games in London. The NFL wants one more TV window.

They want that early 7 a.m. Pacific window. That's what they want. They don't want a team over there. You want to occupy all of Sunday. Yeah, because right now they've got, if you're at East Coast, there's a game on at 1, and there's a game on at 5 or 4, and it's game on at night. They want a game on at 10 a.m.

Out west now it's problematic. At 7 a.m. We're just getting up. I always think the team, things, the smokescreen. The NFL wants the window over the team, and I don't think this solves. So you're telling me, moving to London will solve fan apathy. Now, you're further away from your base. Well, I mean, you would just have a new base. I mean, it would just eliminate the West Coast base, fan base for the Chargers, or if it would say the Jack DeKill Jaguars, which was the

other team that was most discussed about possibly moving to London, it would just eliminate that fan base. Well, I think once again in pro sports, even with the world's, even with America's most popular sport, Joey, and we would not, we would not deny that the NFL is the most watch, the most bet, the most discussed. We've got too many teams. You can't saturate, like NBA could drop off five teams, baseball six. I think Jacksonville. I mean, I think you could probably, you could probably lose maybe two teams, but I do think that there are cities out there that if you look at, it would be sustainable for an NFL franchise. Like, when you talk about it, what keeps an NFL franchise going?

Obviously, you need a new stadium. Right. Right? You have to have a facility. But you also have to have a place where people can spend money on those tickets. Like, tickets are expensive. It's expensive to be a season ticket holder. Every time I watch.

You have to have the income in the city. When I watch Charger games, there was always a bunch of people in the stands. But they had a stadium issue. And I understood what the owner said. We couldn't get a new stadium. But the truth of the matter is, you. You and I said this from day one. If the Philadelphia Eagles or Pittsburgh Steelers said, we're moving, the NFL would have gone.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. San Diego said we're moving, and the NFL's like, ah, why not it's L.A. The NFL could have said, hey, San Diego, we're going to chip in $800 million and help you build a stadium. The NFL, this is, this is, you can blame owners all you want. The NFL would not allow the Philadelphia Eagles to move, and they could have easily paid for a new stadium. They would sort it out financially, and that's really what it comes down to. And for everyone who's wondering, the move back to San Diego is no longer an option. The site that they were looking at for the new stadium is with San Diego State now,

and they're building on it. So that's not even an option. I agree with you, though. I would always prefer for teams to stay where they are and for the NFL to just invest in whatever needs to be done to keep the team there. Couldn't the NFL just say, here's a zero percent loan or, you know, the bottom line is when I want. There's always a way to get it done. There's a way to get everything done. Exactly.

And especially when you're the NFL and you're just printing money. So Saquan Barkley was bottled up by the Cowboys defense and Monday nights 37 18 loss. He was held to only 28 rush yards and 67 receiving yards. Following the game, he talked about the disappointing season so far. We were struggling right now and things aren't going on our way. I'm not going to lose my focus. I'm not going to lose belief in this team.

And his coaches have, I'm just going to continue to come to work. every single day. And I know, I know for a hundred percent sure that it will turn around. Just have to turn around as soon as we'll like it today. You can't just cry about it. It's part of football. It's part of your profession, part of your job. You just got to go back, watch film and learn from it and try to get better throughout the rest of the season and focus on the next game with that being the Jets. I think the Giants have joy a lot of problems. I don't love their GM. I'm not sure Schumer's the guy. They don't have defensive personnel. Like the Giants are not a quick fix.

We think the Jets are a mess. The Jets and Giants play next weekend. Tell me who's a mess. Like, I think the Giants fundamentally have real issues. I don't like their defensive personnel. I don't like this general manager. I think he's a little over his skis. And I'm not sure Pat Schumer's the right guy.

I mean, I think you can make the same exact criticisms about the Jets. I mean, what we think we just, I think we traditionally think of the Giants as a more stable franchise. That's right. That's right. But, I mean, they both have their courts. quarterback or the future. They both have running backs. Sequin Barclay, Levy on Bell, you know, so they have some core pieces in place, but the big question marks are front office coaching, and what do you do with that defense? And Daniel Jones lost his eighth fumble of the season

in that final offensive play, which the Cowboys recovered in return for a touchdown. It was his 10th fumble of the season and the eighth one that he has lost. So I think he's number one in the NFL. He and Gardner Minshue struggle to hold on to the ball. Yeah. And they've lost five games in a row now. So like you said, they're playing the Jets next week, not looking any better for the Giants. I think it was kind of a spike in optimism for the Giants when they made the move to Daniel Jones. So it maybe also has that sort of feel to it, whereas the jet season has kind of started with a lull with Sam Darnold. Finally, Alabama faces off against LSU this Saturday. Alabama quarterback to a Tung of Aloha has been recovering from an ankle

surgery and Coach Nick Saban shared his plan for the quarterback in preparation for the big game. Been pretty consistent on the message with Tua. You know, if he can play in the game, it'll be a game time decision. You know, he did practice two days last week. We'll see where he's at today. And then we'll manage the reps accordingly. And when I say that, we cannot predict, you know, if he goes out there today and he looks good, then his rep count is going to go up and we'll prepare him as if he's going to have an opportunity to play in the game. If he has a setback during the week, we can't really control that, but that would change the plan. He did undergo an ankle surgery for his high ankle sprain on October 20th.

So not that long ago. High ankle sprains are tedious. I've had friends with them. I've never had one. Yeah. And they last. There's one of those things. They last.

It's a lingering injury. Yeah. Forever. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Let's ask Reggie Bush, 11 years in the NFL.

Come on in Reggie. Super Bowl champ. Drafted number two overall. Let's talk Alabama. Alishu. Let's just talk this before we get into the NFL stuff. High ankle sprains. Yeah.

Oh, they're bad. High ankle sprain was ultimately what got me cut in Detroit. I had a high ankle sprain my second year in Detroit. And it lingered the whole thing. season and it came from a play I got tackled on. I exit, I left the game, sat out two weeks, came back, I mean, three or four plays in the game, somebody tackled my ankle, wrapped and rolled, I was out for another two weeks, came back again, same exact thing happened, rap, roll, tackled, out another two weeks. I didn't really get healthy that season until like week 11 or 12.

So bottom line is high ankle sprain, they wouldn't be playing them if they were playing. If they were playing Wolford or Citadel. They're playing him because it's LSU. Exactly. He will not be healthy. And that's the one thing that I worry about is they're still not, they don't have a good, they don't have a decision yet as to if he can go. And so I'm not sure, is this the game you want him to come back testing out that ankle

because the difference with high ankle sprains is they are tricky and they do linger. And it's not how you look. It's can you survive getting tackled by one of these big defense alignment who will, you're scrambling out of the pocket, they clip you by the ankles, wrap and roll, because that can cause more pain and it can be more severe. So tonight they will unveil, to me, the college football rankings, they do this in November, first one. Your four are, here's Reggie's four, LSU I agree with, Ohio State I agree with,

No, this is mine. I go LSU, Ohio State, Bama, Penn State. You go LSU, Ohio State, Bama, Clemson. Well, mine is, I think that four spot is interchangeable with Penn State because Penn State does have more impressive wins than Clemson. And I think the Big Ten's better than the ACCC. The Big Ten is way better than the ACC. It's not even close.

So the narrow wins by Penn State against Iowa and Michigan kind of trump, some narrow wins. for Clemson and Comps? The only impressive win, the only ranked opponent that Clemson has beat is Texas A&M. And I'm not sure how good they are. I don't know how good they are either. And so it feels like

Clemson is being rewarded for being the defending champ, the national defending champ from last year. By the way, I'm not against that. Let me say this. In the NFL, we don't have a ranking system. I do think you have to look at Clemson last year and go they crush Bama,

they bring most of their offensive people back, Of course I look in the rearview mirror. I look at your, if I have to rank, what do I do with my preseason rankings? What was your recruiting? Right. Who do you bring back? So I don't have a problem giving a 15% reward to Clemson based on last year. Do you?

I do. Because you're basically saying that to start the season, you know, we're not all starting equal, right? Like everybody should start on the equal playing field. It's zero, zero. every year players leave, every year players now transfer portals, every year players go on to get drafted, coaches leave, and so you're basically saying that we're not all starting on the even playing field. Clemson is starting here because they won the national championship last year. And I don't know how fair that is to a team like Penn State that has more impressive wins.

They're in a tougher division. And Clemson is playing Wolford. And Clemson is, you know, beating the brakes off of Wolford. and all these other teams that they were one two-point conversion away from losing to North Carolina right here. And so this is why we need more teams in a playoff system. We need an expanded playoff system, eight to ten teams because of these kinds of issues right here. Do I think Clemson deserves if they win, deserves to be in a playoff system if they win if they went out? Yes.

Yes. But because there's only four teams and there's five power conferences that. It makes it difficult. It makes it tough. And there's always a team that's going to get left out. By the way, Alabama plays LSU this weekend. Penn State plays Ohio State in a couple weeks, so it will get sorted out. So what happens if Alabama doesn't win the SEC championship game?

LSU wins it. They don't. Then LSU gets in. But does Alabama deserve to move Alabama being? No, no, no, because they got smoked last year by Clemson. And so we've seen them be rolled. And this year they don't have, if they lose to LSU this weekend, without TWA, I would think differently than if they lost with Tua.

So if they lose an overtime without Tua, that to me is as good a loss in America as you can have. And then they beat Auburn, they beat Georgia, then I'm old. I consider the context of everything. But the reason I bring that up is because Alabama got into the playoff system a couple of years ago when they didn't win the SEC championship. Georgia won it that year and they went on to win the national championship. But I think the SEC is better. So I'm willing to, again, when I look at the SEC, the body's,

the quality of teams. I think right now the PAC 12 is a two-team conference. I think Utah is going to... Oregon and Utah. That's it. That's it. You can have everybody else. Reggie Bush joining us.

Okay. So the cowboy, and this is something that you had Sean Payton as a coach. Sean is one of the best coaches. Yes. I look at how do you coach off a by week? Harbaugh's 10 and 2. Belichick's great. Andy Reid's great.

Sean Peyton's great. Jason Garrett's 5 and 5. Yeah. The Cowboys won, but they come out flat. I watched Freddie Kitchens off a by this year. team looked awful. Kyle Shanahan, Harb off a buy, team looks unbelievable. Really good.

So go to your Sean Payton Saints days. Off buys. Yeah. What could you do that you couldn't do if you had a game in six, seven days? Well, you can get guys healthy. You get guys back healthy. And that's a big part, right? Leighton Van der Esch didn't play last night, but the defense still looked really good.

The offense started off. They had a lackluster start. Dax started the game off with the interception. Now, he played better after that interception, but the one thing you worry about is when we get to playoff games, right? When we get to November, December, that's when you have to separate, right? And you make those kinds of mistakes against, they got to go New England in a couple weeks. You make that mistake against New England.

Games over. The game's over, right? They have to play Minnesota Vikings next week. Again, you make that kind of mistake. I don't have the game's over, but there's going to be seven points for sure. Also, when you get into the playoffs, you face not only the, the best teams, the best coaches. That's where Jason Garrett is struggle.

He's fine in the regular season because you're facing a lot of Freddie Kitchens. You get to the playoffs and it's a lot of Andy and Sean and John Harbaugh, and that's where Dallas underperforms. And that's where each mistake is magnified, double, right? You make those kinds of mistakes in the playoffs that usually is going to hurt you because you have to, again, in the playoffs, those mistakes are magnified. and it's just it's harder when you get to the good teams. Right now it looks like the road to the Super Bowl

and the NFC is going to go through either New Orleans or through the 49ers. And you turn the ball over as much as they did against the Giants. That's going to be a loss. That's a guaranteed loss for sure without a question. And they also come out flat and that worries me. And also remember this. In the playoffs in the NFC,

Sean Payton may be at home off a buy. And John Harbaugh on the AFC is off. of buy. So you're not even facing the best teams, best coaches with two weeks to prep. That's what I think Dallas has run into over the last seven, eight years. And also they got to improve on the deep ball. Some of those deep balls I'm watching, you know, DAC throw, you have to have an explosive past game presence in the playoffs. When you're playing against teams like we're talking about Drew Brees, who's a master throwing at deep ball, right? You're playing against teams.

Russell Wilson, the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rogers. They master. the deep ball and you have to be able to match that on your offense as well. And that's where I think DAC has to improve. The receivers got to improve. Obviously, they got to protect the football. Everybody knows that. But from an offense perspective, you can't just say, I'm going to hand the ball to Zeke 30 times. And that's going to be good enough for us to win against teams like Packers, Saints, 49ers.

Okay. I want to talk about Lamar Jackson, New England, what you saw, about the Packers coming to L.A. And literally partying for two days. You used to play in Miami. You know all about the South Beach flu. Reggie Bush on real things in the NFL. Good stuff. Coming back in a second.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

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

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing,

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 and the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. Hey, Red, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 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?

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 can it be getting naked at 50 with a new guy? That one's kind of hard, you know? 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 Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't be the guy in the room, the long, sloppy-looking untuck shirt.

Untucket.com code hurt 20% off. Reggie Bush is here, part of the big noon kickoff, college football analyst for Fox. I think we both like Alabama. If Tua plays this week. Yeah, I like, well, if Tua plays, yeah, they got a really good shot winning this football game. If Tua does not play because Joe Burrow has been lights out, week in and week out, and he shows up in the biggest games. That's the thing that I love about this kid is because he's not scared. He played great against Auburn, played really good, went into Texas, and really just dismantled that.

that whole defense. He plays his best games when they matter most, when it's the ranked opponent. By the way, he had very good drives against Florida. Yeah, Florida, yeah, exactly. Yeah, so he's been good in the biggest moments, in the biggest game. And those are two really, Auburn, Florida, really good, two of the best defenses in the SEC.

Right. All right, let's shift back to the NFL. So you played in Miami professionally, and then you played collegiately in Los Angeles. Now, college kids go in a road trip. They don't go out and party. coaches are hovering. Yeah, yeah.

But Green Bay came out this weekend, and they came out early Friday. So they had Friday night and Saturday night, and they were so flat against the Chargers. And Aaron Rogers came out, and he said, I mean, you didn't have to squint to see it. He basically said, we have to make better decisions in the 48 hours leading up to the game, meaning we went out. I said it. We went to no boo on Saturday and it was a no show on Sunday. Right. So do you believe, have you ever seen a team?

Two years, two or three years ago in Pittsburgh, Steelers came into town and barfed on the field for three hours against Miami. And I'm like, oh, they went out and partied in South Beach. Yeah. I don't chalk that up to, you know, because the end of the day, we're all adults, right? You guys are adults. You got to handle your business the way you're supposed to. I've been on teams where, you know, we go out to, you know, West Coast game two days before

and we didn't have curfew, right? And we play great that game. It's about attention to detail on. that football field. It's about your preparation. It's about execution. And that's ultimately what happened on the field. Don't tell me about, you know, what you guys did, party and this and that, because there's been guys that have partied before. We were just talking to Shannon Sharp. You know, he played with Elway and on their Baltimore Ravens team. They had games during the Super Bowl. They didn't have curfew, right? And they went out and won the game. So I don't chalk

that up as much as to partying because, again, you're in L.A., everything closed at 2 a.m. out here? Like, what are you going to do after 2 a.m.? Like, you're not going to be out to 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. So I don't really chalk that up as much to the parting as more to just, you know, I think that's a cop-out. Did you execute on the football field? Did you do your job? And they

just got beat. They got beat and they got smacked in the mouth early, and they didn't look as good as they have in the past couple weeks. Do you ever have a big party night before a game? Not the night before the game. You got curfew the night before the game. Did they not have curfew the night before the game? Hey, I grew up with a mom. I had an 8-15

PM curfew. So my life was all curfews. Every team I've ever been on, the night before a game, you have curfew. Yeah, they probably had curfew. Yeah, you have curfew. Now, the night before the night before the game, but that's quite a hangover. I mean, that's a mean hangover if you're still struggling from 248 hours. Okay, two things. Do we make anything of the Patriots kind of being discombobulated at Baltimore? Does there anything that worries you? The one thing that I worry about is that no team beats Belichick twice.

And so Baltimore won, big win, big time game, great job. Lamar Jackson play lights out. The team look good. Usually when you get into the playoffs, you cannot do those same exact things that won you that football game against Belichick. He is a master at figuring you out. If you give him two shots at figuring you out, usually that second time is going to result in the L for the opposition.

Let's talk Raiders. Offensively fun to watch. If I recall, you and I both like Derek. I like Derek Carr a lot. I think he reminds me of not quite as good as Tony Romol, but in the class. I think he's a top 12 NFL quarterback, probably closer to 12 than five. Yes. So I kind of buy the Raiders.

Do you buy them yet? I buy them, but I'm ready to – I got to pump the brakes on them because I got to see more, right? I think they're 4 and 4 right now. Yeah. So they're at 500 at the 500 mark. I don't want to – don't tell me about how you started this season. I want to see how you finished this. By the way, Patrick Mahomes is coming back.

Yes. And the Chargers are now healthy. Exactly. So that's my concern with them. Right. We get pumped the brakes on them right now. I like them, but I got to see more from them. I want to go back to the Dallas Cowboys last night.

So I don't have a problem with Dak because my expectations are reasonable. I think he's a B quarterback who makes occasional A throws. I think he's very similar to me to Kirk Cous. He's a B student who occasionally has A semesters. I like DAC more than Kirk, and I think both are good enough. I think DAC's a better athlete. Yes, for sure. And I think in the space today, the 2019 NFL, when you watch DAC play, what do you like?

What worries you? The one thing about- You don't like the deep throws, not accurate. Yeah, the DAC, he has to improve on the deep ball. The deep throws, again, when you get into the playoffs and this second half of the season, and you got to go on the road to New England. You know Tom Brady is throwing that deep ball well. That's what you have to do well when you play against these kinds of teams.

You can get away with that against the Giants. Everybody gets away with that against the Giants. You got to do a better job. He has to do a better job at completing some of those deep balls because those are what's going to take this offense to the next level. I do like his leadership. I love the fact that after that turnover, he was fist bumping and hitting all the guys on the shoulders.

He was saying, hey, that's on me. That's not going to happen again. And he played well. He played much better after that turnover. And so I like the fact that he's resilient. You know he's tough. You know he's heard all the constructive criticism, the chatter about what he can and can't do.

And he's still able to go in, do his job, lead his football team to a win. And that's what I like about him. I like the fact that he's tough and he can fight through adversity. By the way, Dallas was very good in the fourth quarter. You'd rather have your quarterback great, late, struggle early. Tom Brady's never thrown a touchdown pass in eight or nine Super Bowl appearances. He's never once thrown a touchdown pass in the first quarter.

We know Brady's been great in almost all of the fourth quarter. And that's ultimately what it's about. You know, can you, can you, when you make that mistake, what do you look like after the mistake? Are you going to tank or are you going to rise up and overcome? By the way, Sam Darnold against New England, bad early throw, never recovered. I thought Baker Mayfield, uh, couple weeks ago against Seattle, had a bad throw, got into his coconut, and Baker never recovered. People don't think about that. It's like a running back. You fumble on your first

carry. It's crazy. I talked to Tiki Barbara about this once. Like, that's in your head all day. Oh, my God. It's in your head. And now you don't feel like you can really run and really just open up because you're worried about somebody coming from behind, hitting a ball of your hands. That's happened to me a bunch of times, man. But, you know, when you funnel that one or you, I'm sure for quarterbacks, when you turn that first ball over, you got to have a short-term memory. You have to. You can't think about that because you got a whole football game to play. All right, Reggie Bush coming out next.

It's the herd hierarchy, our top 10 teams in the NFL. This league is jammed right now at the top because three teams I like didn't make it. That's next. It's the herd. 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. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way with me.

your host and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

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. SportsSlice 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 Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is CliverTaylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, family? I'm 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 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 podcasts. All right, here we go. Hour 2. A key to lead the former Patriot, Bronco and Ram, stops by Jerry Rice.

Greatest player, many believe in NFL. History joins us live. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on iHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One minute from now, the herd hierarchy, top 10 teams. Shows you how good the league is right now. There's some really bad teams about three at the bottom of this league.

Miami, Sinty are tanking, Jets, Atlanta. But man, there is a lot of good to very good in this league. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you? I'm great. I'm very excited for this hierarchy. Okay, here we go. Top 10 teams in the league.

I don't remember a herd hierarchy where I left teams that I really like that I think can win, if not a division, win playoff games. Here we go, our top 10. Heard hierarchy. Time is now, let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. Seattle, for the first time ever, this Pete Carroll team's about offense, not defense.

Russell Wilson has been my MVP. They lead the NFL in two-minute offense. Last 16 games, they're 13 and 3 without a great defense. I like that they added Jadavia and Cloudy. I like that they added Josh Gordon. It gives them juice on both sides of the football. Pete Carroll in the draft is going to go out and have to improve the back end of this defense. I think that's what gets them eliminated, and they do get into a lot of close games.

But if you give me an A-plus at coach and an A-plus-at quarterback the way Russell Wilson, my MVP is playing, they make the list. They're 10. Number nine. Green Bay. There is now a way to beat Green Bay. that's why I'm dropping them to number nine. It's not about losing to the Chargers. Well, it kind of is.

It's about losing to Philly and the Chargers the same way. Pound them. Go right after them. Don't run away with them. Run away from them. Run at them. They're 26 in total defense. They're one in two when they don't force a turnover.

And it's not an intimidating defense. It's not a suffocating defense. It's opportunistic. It appears to be well-coached. But there is now a script on Green Bay. run it, pound him, be aggressive, and they don't want to be in the octagon, Green Bay at 9. Number 8. Houston Texans, hate their secondary, but they're very good against the run.

The problem is they force you to pass, and you can pass on them. But let's be honest, they got up to a bad start last year. They were 0 and 3. But do you know what they are since then? They're 17 and 5, and they generally under Deshawn Watson, they've been very good in November and December. Their third and total offense, many of you do. did not see the game in London this week. That was a go-either-way game that they absolutely dominated.

You know, listen, they don't have a GM. Their coach situationally can drive me nuts. But if you stop the run, they've done a nice job organizationally. Two now legitimate running backs, nice perimeter weapons. I've got Houston at eight. Number seven. Carolina. I really like them.

I really do. I think they've got great personnel. This is a team that leads the NFL in Sacks. and yet has one of the lowest blitz percentages. They got good personnel. Once again, Ron Rivera loses a star quarterback, and they're well-coached enough like the Saints to go, okay, we've got a backup.

Let's just make it happen. This is not a CAM issue. This is really fundamentally what I've always believed about Carolina, that they're not beholden to Cam Newton. There are times he holds them back. I like the receivers. McCaffrey's a monster. Greg Olson's having a good year.

Their offensive line is average to above average and defensively once again. They get to the quarterback without blitzing. I've got Carolina at seven. Number six. Kansas City. Folks, they've played a tough schedule. They've played Minnesota's defense.

They've played Green Bay, Indianapolis, Baltimore. Some of these games are the backup quarterback. And they're in first place. And they're getting Patrick Mahomes back. And they just got Chris Jones back. Did you see how well he played? Okay, now they're getting healthy. Now Patrick's coming back.

Now Chris Jones is back. their best defensive player and their best offensive player. I think when you start looking at their schedule, they've lost a left tackle, their best offensive lineman and a quarterback. And this team in every game, that Minnesota went on Sunday. That was impressive with a guy that was coached in high school football last year, Matt Moore. I like Kansas City and they're about to go on a role. Number five. New England. They're really good. But here's the issue. And it's not going away. They're not dynamic enough on offense. Tom Brady's last six games.

Think about this. Seven touchdowns, five picks, an 83 quarterback rating. There's nobody out there. They are totally dependent on Edelman and now Mohamed Sunu on third down. They have no over the top game. They're on a third string left tackle and a backup center. They don't now have a dependable kicker. Their defense is really, really good.

But at some point, you got to. to be able to get some cheap points. Does everything have to be at 11 play drive? They have to play perfect offensively. I mean, they really do. They just don't get any cheapies like Kansas City does. They don't get any freebie where Lamar Jackson's spinning out of a tackle and running for 50 yards. I have New England five. Number four. Dallas Cowboys. Again, I don't know what you want. I don't love their coach. And I think that limits them in the playoffs. But they're number one in offense, number one and third down offense. They're 4-0 against the NFC East.

Michael Bennett, I thought last night, had four quarterback hits. That was a nice pickup. I like these teams that are willing to roll the dice and go out, and Michael Bennett may not be your favorite player. But again, last night, first game. Exactly what I want from him. Am I worried that they came out flat off a buy? Yes, I'm always worried about them.

Jason Garrett's five and five off byes, but I have Dallas at four. Number three. Baltimore. I think Baltimore's a lot. like Dallas. They're not perfect, but I get a better coach. I really do. I think Baltimore reminds me a lot of Dallas. I get some really good individual players, but I just like them winning a division, getting a home playoff game off a buy. Their defense now is coming together. Now, we're paying a lot of attention to Lamar Jackson, and we should, but their defense

now is coming together. It's seventh and total defense, ninth in scoring since week five. They go get Marcus Peters. And again, when you're a well-coached team, you get better over the season. defensive players are getting better. And they also have an identity. Half this league doesn't have an identity. They are, we run the ball, well, a lot right at you, Baltimore at 3.

Number two. New Orleans Saints. Only lost this year is the game Drew Brees got hurt in. They're such a smart team. Only six turnovers all year. They don't get penalized much. They're excellent on third down. They're excellent situationally. I like their personnel.

Now, there's the hole in their game. I wish they would have gone after Josh Gordon. They do not have much of a vertical passing game. They rely on Michael Thomas, and they cross their fingers for one big play of game from Teddy Gin. But I have them at two because I like so much about their structure and roster. Number one. San Francisco, and now they're about to have three straight home games.

So with some of these ugly road games at Washington, at Pittsburgh, at Arizona, now they get Seattle, Arizona, Green Bay at home. They run the NFL ball 56% of the time, which is even greater than Baltimore. And what I loved about San Francisco, we all know their D-line's great. But this was the first week that their D-line wasn't dominant and their running game no-showed. And they said, Jimmy G, we need you this week, bro. Step up, win the game, and he was great. That gives them another layer.

I have them San Francisco at number one. By the way, I like Indy, I like Philly, and I like the Rams. And none of them made the list. So we got a pretty deep NFL. Those are three teams I like. I like Philly a lot. I like the Rams. I like Indianapolis, but I can't put them in.

So we have a Seattle, Green Bay, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, New England, Dallas, Baltimore, New Orleans, San Francisco. I don't have Minnesota, but I don't like them. I think they're total fools gold. By the way, let me say this. Interesting story here. And Akieb Talib's around the corner. So Mike Sandow is a legitimate NFL reporter. He talked to an NFL exec.

He works for the athletic. You pay a couple bucks a month and they have good stories. And so he said, he was talking, somebody asked him this exec, would you rather be the Raiders or the Bears? Because remember, they made that big trade with Khalil Mack. And the exec said, oh, I'd way rather be the Raiders. He said, Oakland, know that about it. I mean, Gruden got so criticized for making that Khalil Mack trade,

he got crushed his ego and all that. but is the guy Mac a great player? Of course. Should you trade great players? Probably not, but there's no single way to put together a team. It's important that you have a plan and you stick to your plan. Now, what I would ideally like is to have the Bears' defense and the Raiders' offense. That would be a team.

But let me address this. Brian Flores, Miami, and John Gruden Oakland. Now, Flores is a defensive guy, and they're kind of tanking. Not kind of. And then there's John Gruden who's not tanking. Both of them have a vision. and both of them are like, we're going to get rid of some good players

and we're going to get draft picks. And I would liken this to remodeling a house. If you walked in and had to remodel a house and you had a million-dollar chandelier that you know you could sell on the market, and that would allow you to upgrade your kitchen, which is a disaster, your bathrooms, which are a mess,

and your floors, which are old. You probably do it. And my only knock-on-gruden has been the mixed message. We do not want stars. He went and got A.B. We want character. Vantes Perfect A.B. Ritty Incognito.

I don't like the mixed messages from Gruden. But I do think Brian Flores and John Gruden have a vision. One guy's going to have more of a defensive vision. One guy more of an offensive vision. And I think Gruden came in and said, listen, I've been doing Monday Night Football for a decade. I've watched Bill Belichick get rid of great pass rushers. They never lose in the playoffs.

Houston's always got great pass rushers. They can never win in the playoffs. And I think he watches for 10 years, and he also realizes the one team in the league that's always good as New England, and there's only one thing New England does well every year. O-line, quarterback. You said, I got Derek Carr. We're bad on the O-line.

I've got to pay a lot of people on the O-line. We're going to draft it, free agent, Trette Brown. And that was his vision. Again, generally speaking, I mean, ask yourself this. If the Bears had Derek Carr, would they be better? today? Oh, hell yes. If they didn't have Colee O'Mack and they had Derek Carr, would the bears be better? That's not even close. If the Raiders had Mitch Trubisky and Calil Mac, would they be better? No, obviously. It's a quarterback league. So my knock on Gruden is all these

mixed messages and they drafted guys because of their character and then they brought in guys that right after another that weren't character guys. But the Caliol Mac thing, again, when you remodel a home, if you got bad floors, bad kitchen, bad bathroom and you got a valuable asset, You don't have a budget. It's a salary cap league. It's a tight salary cap. It's not the NBA. I get the move.

I don't always love it. My first takeaway was he's the best player in their team by a mile. What's it going to do to the locker room? But now we look at the plan a year and a half later, and it's like their own lines better. One of those draft picks, they got the best young running back in the league. They stole the tight end from Baltimore. They basically cleaned up their offense.

And Derek Carr's completing 73% of his throws. You're like, it's working. It's working and Chicago's dying for a quarterback. So that's not to say that Khalil Mack doesn't have value, but when you're starting a project, the million-dollar chandelier can get you better floors and a better kitchen, you've got to consider it. And Brian Flores, by the way, has gotten really good players.

They still play hard, but he wants to build his vision of the Miami Dolphins and don't be surprised if Miami, because they have good receivers, gets the right quarterback, and next year Miami's a tough out. I mean, Bill Parcells went down there. there were one in 15. A year later, they were 11 and 5. You can, in the NFL, you can reconstruct your lineup fast. It doesn't take, if you get nine draft picks, you can change. You get a quarterback in the draft and nine draft picks, three free agent moves.

That's like, you can, you can change a team in a year. You're not going to go from Miami to the Super Bowl, but you can go Miami to a wild card spot next year. I mean, look what the Raiders have done with a tough schedule. They're in it, man. They're totally in it. All right. Coming up, Akim Taleb stops by.

This guy's had a crazy career. Belichick, Denver, Super Bowls, Rams, McVeigh, coming up next, can't wait. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own

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

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

Last night, a blown call changed the 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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. 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 Slicelife-Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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, A, ref.

My mom wants you know. to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliffert show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. 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 or something here? Just hit it.

Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Can 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. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I've been waiting for this all day.

Akeeb to leave. I remember watching him at Kansas. Then he went to Tampa, New England, Denver, Rams. First of all, it's an absolute pleasure to meet you. It's great to have you on. You've got a million stories. A million. You've been around a long time.

Now, the first thing is you get traded from the Rams. You've been traded a couple of times. I've said this to Joy before. If I was traded for a sportscaster and a future sportscaster pick, I would be offended. It's the one thing that I, the idea that my value is, You're less than this guy. You're more than that guy. When the Rams traded you, are you angry?

Are you mad? Are you disappointed? First, look, Colin, look, when you get traded, someone don't want you. But at the same time, if you're a glass half-full guy like me, someone do want you. At the very same time, someone don't want you, someone do want you. So I just, you don't want me who, he want me? That's who I want to go play for. I feel like I'll be very productive if I'm somewhere where I'm wanted, you know?

So if you didn't want me. me, I don't want to be there, but I look at it like, it's part of our business. So I've been in the NFL 12 years and guys get traded. I've seen hundreds of guys get traded. Great players. Great players get traded. Colile Mac got traded. So I feel like if it was more in your business and it was like Colin, going to ESPN for,

and you've seen Stuart Scott been traded in his life and you've seen all these guys who's been traded before, it'd be part of your business. It'd be more natural to you. I don't think you would be as offended. All right, that's fair enough. I get that. I want to talk about you had Belichick, and then you had McVeigh.

So you had thought of as sort of the NFL's greatest coach, and then the next great coach. Where were they the same? Let's start with that. Where are Sean and Bill the same? Where are Sean and Bill the same? I say what jumps off the first thing I think about is their leadership, man. They're great leaders.

When those guys get in the front of a room, no one to be texting, no one to be doing this and talking and, hey, Joy. Nah, but I've been around here coaches where guys, we got a team meeting and they're laughing and guys like this and texting. Guys can't hold the attention of 60 grown men. That's what you have to be able to do. You have to be able to stand in front of the room and have the attention a 60 grown men and make those guys buy into what you're trying to make them buy into.

Okay, now where are they different? Where was that? And it's not a bad thing, but where are the differences? It's not a lot of differences, Colin. I think they're very similar as leaders as head coaches. The difference is little things like Sean is super offensive-minded. You know what I'm saying? He knows the defense, but when we're going there in the morning,

he's focused on getting the offense right for the week, Whereas in Bill, Bill is defensive-minded. He's focused on getting the defense right for the week. So, you know, you'll see Bill in a lot more defensive meetings, talking to a lot more defensive guys, and Sean will be just the opposite. He's more on the offensive side of football. By the way, Bill Bark, or was Bill a teacher ever bark at you?

Or did he stick you down and go, Keith? This is what I want you to do. The most I heard Bill Yale is, like, on the sideline at a game. The stuff that you see on TV, like, man, they're doing this, and we have to set the edges. And, you know, just that's the most of you yell. I don't really see them yell at guys in practice. If you screwing up in practice, he'll simply tell you, get him out of there, take off.

Go get you a lap or something. Get your mind right. Bill don't do too much hollering, man. He don't do too much yelling at guys. You've played against great quarterbacks. You've played with great quarterback. So let's talk about, let's go back to you come into the league. You're an All-American at Kansas.

Now, that happens in basketball all the time. It doesn't happen in football money. I felt like a basketball player at Kansas. I got a lot of love, Colin. So you come to Tampa. So now you got Drew Breeze. Drew Breeze. So you were a guy in college.

People didn't want any part of you. They didn't even throw to your side. Tell me how great Drew Breeze is. Drew Breeze, college. Like you said, I come from high school, no touchdowns. College, I made a couple, a few touchdowns scored on me, barely deep balls. So I'm playing a nickel, starting a nickel,

coming in the game, playing outside. Ronde-Barber moves to the inside and play the nickel. So it's our first game. I think maybe first game or a second game or something. NFL career. NFL career. Maybe our second game. Maybe I don't know, Colin.

I've been in league 12 years. Yeah, I know. So I think we're in covered three or something like that. And Drew Brees, boom, he lets a seven route go. And I'm looking at it like, I just know Drew Brees then throw me this. And it just stayed in the air and it stayed in the air and barely missed my fingers. I jump in. Woo.

Money balls. I think Devery Henderson, I want to say. Touchdown? Touchdown. The dome went crazy. It was my welcome to the NFL moment. Welcome to one of the most accurate passes in NFL history. He definitely welcomed me to the NFL with that seven-wrought touchdown. Now, most quarterbacks you have faced are not Drew Brees. Let's talk about the quarterbacks you've faced this year. All right. A guy I've been critical of, Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield. I think he's grown. He's growing in the league. I think my honest opinion, I think the game is moving fast to him. You know, you're young. I was a young cornerback in the league before.

The game moves fast all the way until year six or seven. Really? Honestly. That's when you really could take a breath and be like, okay, this is really, really slowing down to me now. So I can't imagine playing quarterback. He looked overwhelmed when you played him. He got Aaron Donald. We got a pretty good defense.

I ain't going to lie. We got a pretty good defense, a great pass rush. So he had guys in his face. And I just think as he mature in the NFL, he'll be able to go through his reads more. He's more of a one-reed guy. He's going to read right now and start scrambling. And he could work on the scrambling.

The scrambling is always to the right. We had it in our game plan. He's going to scramble to the right. He's going to look at a one receiver and he's going to scramble to the right. So our rush plan was gays for somebody to scramble to the right. So when we looping guys, we looping guys to our left so they can meet him when he scrambles to the right type thing.

So we said, by the way, we said that on their show. we kept saying, have you ever noticed he scrambles to one side? He scrambled straight to the right. You look at our game, it had to be at least about 20 times. Scrambled to the right. Yeah. Okay. Now let's talk about quarterbacks you've played with.

Brady's not the biggest, the strongest, but you faced him in practice. You saw his leadership. What jumped off the page? Obviously, you know, he's got a great coach. But there are things that you were like watching him and just thinking he's different. Right. I could just remember my routine being in New England and just walking in the building. time is always there. I mean, you don't want to come in, he's first guy in, first guy out.

That's, everyone says that, but it's honestly true with time. And I just think his, his, his, his flow of the day never changed. It was, it was always positive. You always seem positive. He'd come over there and says a little joke. It was the same time in the building every day. And, and his routine was just as a, just like a coach's routine. It never changed. It never stopped. He always went into the same. same warm-up. It was that routine, man, that just breathes confidence. So when you just do that routine, that routine, that routine, you get in the game and it's like you did it already, you know, so. That's a great point. It's like you did. It's like you already played this game. You said something very interesting Sunday on our show. I really liked it. You said, we got to give these young quarterbacks time. Right. You said the fans don't get continuity. Go into that. They don't, I mean, it's, it's, it's like, it's like being a tech. a tech worker and your job is to explain if somebody got a problem with the software

I'm the guy who they come to and I correct them right right so boom I come to this job and now this my teacher is teaching me how to work this software how to work this software how to work this software all right so I'm learning boom they send me over to the next tech company so now I'm learning how to work a new software and guys come to me joy you come to me I'm like okay I kind of know but I kind of just start learning this software so then they fire everybody else and then a new guy comes into my building and he got a new software. So now I'm learning the new software that I got to put out and teach everybody. Whereas in, if I come to this job, my one teacher is teaching me this software.

Four years, five years, six years. By year six, they're going to be ready to fire this guy and they're going to be ready for me to be the teacher. You know, I just got more repetitions in the same, same software and I'm going to be better as natural. I'm going to be better at it. I'll be better at sitting here talking in his mic. if I did it every day. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So it's just those repetitions and those repetitions doing the same thing over and over and over again.

You're going to be more comfortable in it. You're going to be better at it. It's a fact. Akeeb Taleb joining us. A lot of people have been critical of Jared Goff. Again, be as honest as you can. You liked him. I love Jared Goff, honestly. What do you see at practice? Money balls. Overr. I like John Elway highlights in practice. It's like deep balls, money balls. money balls, double moves.

Ah, whof, money ball. It's like, he got one of the best deep balls. Oh, he throws a... Most accurate,

best deep balls that I've seen in a long time. And then he's smart. He's one of those guys who was in one of those unique situations where he got his tech teacher is the owner of the company

and he's not going nowhere, right? So, you know what I'm saying? He's going to be able to learn that system and learn that system and master that system. So I remember in practice one time. I had a nice vet day.

I don't have to practice today. nice vet day. So Sean wanted to put me to work. He said, we're doing two minutes today, and you call in the two minute. All right, I said, all right, I got it. And Jared, you calling it for the offense. So it was me versus Jared. We was the coordinators.

I won. Just get that out the way. They didn't score. They didn't score. My defense won. But Jared just looked so comfortable. It was like, I didn't know if Sean was caught in the plays or if Jared was called in the place because it was the same routine and the same reps that Sean to do.

You know what I'm saying? Right. So that just goes to show me that he's growing. super, super comfortable in this offense. And criticize him all you want, man. Jared's going to be one of the elite guys for a long time in this league. Akeeb to leave. All right, a couple of quick questions.

Toughest receiver. It's funny. I was asking Charles Woodson about this one time. I said, who's the toughest receiver that I would never guess? He goes, I hated guarding Ed McCaffrey. Yeah. He said he's angles. He had long speed and just his body.

Has there ever been a receiver in this league that gives you trouble? Just did I hate guarding? Right. Julian Edelman, he cuts off his inside foot. He'll go this way. And he's supposed to be like a left foot stick and go this way. But he a right foot sticking. It's crazy.

His feet is so weird. He changed directions. And then what's put the icing on the cake, he got Tom Brady and they like joined at the hip or something, joined at the head. They're like, he knows when they're throwing the ball. He knows when they wait a little bit longer and let him get to the second window. And it's just weird. It's weird.

He's run his rocks. He's not the fastest guy. No. He's not the quickest guy. But he's super strong. You won't have to tackle him once he catch it. And just knowing which way he's going to break is super weird. Okay.

Is there a great receiver that you felt you matched up well with, a Julio Jones type that you really felt, listen, I can shut him down as well as anybody. Well, I say the toughest cover What the toughest cover Who I probably was super successful against Was probably Calvin Johnson I followed Calvin Johnson Two games

And he probably was the best receiver that I guarded I mean I spent numerous hours Trying to watch him And get prepared for those games But I think I was pretty successful Probably 70 yards Big big receiver You get under him a little bit

I just He more jump balls I never worried about jump balls. I'm 6'1. I could jump. I never worried about to jump deep balls way. He did jump over me one time and scored a touchdown for like a quick four-yard touchdown. That's fine.

I jumped my highest, Colin, and I couldn't do nothing with him. That's okay. He's 6'7. He's got a little edge. But I think just his quickness, his speed and his ball skills, put him over everybody. Akeeb to leave. It's been an absolute pleasure. I was waiting for this all day.

Okay, finally. So Packers come in to Los Angeles and Aaron Rogers. says we got here on Friday, we got to be in a little better mindset. What he's insinuating is, La La Land got him. A lot young guys went out, went to Nobu, and whatever they did.

And you know the NFL circuit. Have you ever been in a team or faced a team that you thought L.A. ate them up or Miami ate them up. Or, by the way, Tampa's a party city. Do you ever, you ever on one of those teams? I've definitely been part of a team where we land in Miami.

And we go. So you know, your resort on Sunday, you know, I think about your resort on Sunday when you land in Miami at 2.30 p.m. Friday? Friday, 2.30 p.m. You're in Miami. So you're like, if I was in my plan city,

I might go out and have dinner and have a drink or two. So why not in Miami? So, you know, one drink's trying to six. And you look tired on Saturday and that kind of carry over to Sunday. So I've definitely been a part of those teams. And I've seen teams come to places like even Denver. recreational stuff in Denver, guys come and they'd be a little bit tired.

You know, they'd be a little bit tired in the game. I don't know if it's the altitude or it's the recreational. But, you know, it's some cities when you go, you just got to experience what they're known for. New Orleans. New Orleans. You just got to experience what they're known for. You're going to go out and eat. You may eat.

It might not even be alcohol. You can go out and eat a greasy bowl of gumbo and just don't feel right on Sunday because you don't usually do that. You know what I'm saying? I totally know. So it's real part of our league. And, you know, coaches even do it. Sometimes coaches like we play in Miami, we play in L.A. We're traveling on Saturday.

We get the early Saturday morning and try to get into them. Some coaches don't travel two days to the old states just for that reason. Good stuff. Good stories, man. Thank you, Kyle. Okay, you're busy all the time. If you're ever around, there's Dave. He's our guest booker.

I got your number. I told you that when you gave me your number, I don't bother guys. but I loved having you. Appreciate it, Connie. Appreciate your honesty. Thank you. And your greatness.

Akeb Talib, Joy Taylor with the news. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. We was telling that gumbo story, it sounded like that's happened to you before. Well, listen, when he said greasy bowl at gumbo, I'm like, that doesn't sound terrible to me. I've got to be honest.

I've done about 10 of those, and they've all been good. 10 for 10. Well, the Lakers face the Bulls tonight in Chicago. Anthony Davis went back to his alma mater to surprise the boys and girls' back. basketball teams there. And when he was there, he was asked about possibly joining the Bulls in the future. Obviously, you know, there's nothing like playing at home. I don't know.

I am a free agent next year, but where that means? Oh, boy. Well, starting already. We're a couple weeks into the season. We're already talking about a free agency. He's not going anywhere. He also praised Chicago and called it the mecca of basketball. Well, he's from there, isn't he?

Most people consider, yeah, yes. Most people consider New York to be the Mecca basketball. I'm sorry, I got to be honest with that New York mecca basketball thing, last 20 years. Even college isn't any good. A lot of cities that can have that debate now. You know, I'll tell you, you go to Atlanta, Houston, you watch their high school basketball? Like Atlanta, I mean, okay, ask Earl. Oh, yeah, I have lots of thoughts on this.

Yeah, I mean, I think there's so much talent. You go to Atlanta and Houston. I watch some of this AAU stuff. I mean, L.A. L.A. is loaded. All sorts of talent in America for basketball. I don't think this is anything to freak out about, but all this stuff is going to come up in the conversation for free agency next year.

And he just reminded all of us he is a free agent next year. So for all the work that it took to get him with the Lakers and meshing with LeBron, who knows what could happen. So the Browns will have an extra offensive weapon this weekend when they face the bills. Kareem Hunt's eight-game suspension came to an end, which makes him eligible to play for the first time. since week 11 of last season. Very good back.

Yes, he was approved by the league to start practicing two weeks ago. Freddie Kitchen said on Monday that he will definitely have a role in the offense this week. Boy, they have two really good backs. Yeah, Nick Chubb is great. He was struggling a little bit there. But, I mean, having Kareem Hunt, and this is kind of what I've been waiting for with the Browns because Kareem Hunt's been out of sight, out of mind, obviously, for this entire season.

But, I mean, he rushed for 2,151 yards. and had 15 rushing touchdowns in the two seasons with the Chiefs, not including his 833 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. He is a huge, huge challenge. And getting him back at this time of the year with everything that's going on with the Browns could be instrumental for the rest of their season. So that's something to pay attention to this week against the bills. Good stuff to our news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. We are packed today. Jerry Rice, greatest player, something ever. certainly greatest wide receiver of all time will be joining us live next don't go anywhere it's the herd misholent endurance xt silicone wiper blades last two times longer available only at walmart michelin endurance xd silicone wiper blades jerry rice next be sure to catch live editions of the herd

weekdays at noon eastern 9 a m pacific welcome to my new podcast learn the hard way with me your host and your favorite therapist care games and in recognition of mental health awareness month i'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. 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 answers. 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 Slicelife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tad Ramos.

I'm Tom Bow. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team.

And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. All right, Joy Taylor just told me this. Panthers have placed Cam Newton on the IR.

His season is eventually over, so they're going to go to Kyle Allen, who's been more of a distributor of the football over a playmaker, but there you go, Cam Newton, IR done for the season. He's got a new bookout. He's the greatest wide receiver of all time, and many believe the greatest player of all time. 20 years in the league, which is remarkable.

He played when it was much more difficult for wide receivers and holds virtually every important record via the Coward Global Satellite Record. Network Jerry Rice. He's got to book out America's game, the NFL at 100. Let me start with this. Odell Beckham's gifted. I know it.

I can see him. Fast, hands, routes. Does it bother you at all? He seems distracted a lot. or do you think maybe the league's picking on them with the shoes? Well, I never wanted to be a distraction for the team. And there are certain rules that comes along with their uniform. And they have guys on the sidelines.

They're going to walk by you. They're going to look at your uniform. They're going to tell you if something is out of place. I always wore my socks just a little bit high. And they would tell me, well, Jerry, you got to lower their socks or something like that. And I would abide by the rules. So, you know, I think with Odell Beckham and also Land, what happened at halftime, they went in and said, hey, look, if you guys don't, you know,

change your shoes or something like that, you're not going to come back on the football field. So now that becomes a distraction for the entire team. And that was something I never wanted to do. Steve Young, Joe Montana, you have these kind of relationships where there's a connectivity that's indisputable. I'm watching Jimmy Garoppolo, and they got him Emmanuel Sanders last week, and he's got a bunch of young kids. How long does it take for a quarterback and a receiver to be on the same page, Jerry? Well, Colin, here's the deal, man. This should have happened way doing training camp,

you know, from the second they started, OTAs and all of that stuff. You build chemistry with the quarterback. And I was able to do that with Joe Montana and also Steve Young. And for some reason it looks like there's a disconnect, you know, with Baker Mayfield and also Odell. Right. And, God, it's just like, you know, you got to have that chemistry. The play towards the end where I, O'Dell Beckham had one-on-one coverage. Now, as a quarterback, as a receiver, you know that this guy's going to give you the opportunity to go up, make that play, win that football game.

So I didn't see that, you know, between him and O'Don. Let's go back to Garoppolo, though. What is Jimmy Garoppolo? What do you see with the 49ers quarterback that you like? Is there anything that concerns you with Garoppolo? I think Jimmy G showed that, hey, look, I'm capable of taking this team on my shoulders and winning this football game against Arizona because they had a problem running the ball. He stayed in the pocket. He made some throws down field that was incredible. and he put the ball in a place where the receivers could make the play. So you see in that growth, you see in the confidence, you see in the fun aspect of it too, because, you know, he's having fun on the football field. And this entire team have balled into this structure of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. And, you know, they're having fun on the field.

I watched Lamar Jackson of the Ravens sort of dismantle the Patriots, and I always wondered, you had pocket quarterback in Joe Montana, but Steve Young would take off. Would it be hard for you to have a quarterback like Lamar Jackson that there are times you're open, and frankly, he's making something happen that's spectacular? Is it difficult at times being a receiver when you have a more mobile quarterback? You know what, Colin, you want that aspect of the game. You want the quarterback to be able to run, you know, to buy time, still keep his eye down field where he can make the throw. And you see that with Lamar Jackson.

The confidence. John Harbaugh, right before the game, went up to Lamar Jackson, and they had this exchange between them. And he smiled. And it's almost like, this is your game. your coming out party. Now you just got to go out there and play. But you want that double threat aspect of the game. Yeah, Russ Wilson does this. Obviously, Deshawn Watson, Steve Young did it a bit. Is there a receiver in the game, Jerry Rice today? That just something, you like him a little more than others, that it's the work ethic, the range, the size. Who do you look at and marvel at?

You know what? I have always liked Julio Jones. And yeah, he's playing on a bad team right now. But his work ethic, his size, he's explosive downfield. He can go up and catch the ball. He can run by you. So he has everything that it takes to be a great receiver. You know, I'm watching the Raiders this year. I am shocked by how good they are.

Gruden was in TV for a decade, Jerry. He was out of football, and I didn't think he was going to walk back into this league. I just didn't think it would work. I just thought it was impossible. But there's something about his charisma. There's something about his salesmanship. You know, Gruden, what do you make of him and the Raiders? He's a great coach to play for.

And, you know, this team right now, they're 500. They have a legitimate chance of, you know, playing. this game coming up Thursday night against the Clippers. Charged it, John. He's Chucky. He's Chucky. He's going to challenge you. He's going to try to bring out the best in you. And I was very fortunate to be able to go over to the Raiders and play on John Gruden. Was he a yeller and a screamer?

Why did you and Gruden work? Yeah, because, you know, there's so much terminology in the scheme of the Oakland Raiders with the play calling and all of that. Sometimes I didn't know exactly where to line up and we would go after each other. But we had this respect about each other. And I would have ran through a wall for that guy because I knew he gave me an opportunity to continue to play the game that I love. And, you know, he's just that type of coach. He's going to push you. You got to book out America's game, the NFL at 100.

The game now is more offensive. The rules help offense. I would imagine you like the game more. now or do you miss some of the physicality that the game had when you played? I really missed the physicality because I wanted to I wanted bump and run. I wanted the guy to bump me all the way up and down the field because that way I know exactly where you are. Then I can make that catch and then you know try to get yardage after after the catch. So the game is a little bit different now. It's more of a run pass option game. The ball is not being thrown as far down field and the players are being protected more, which I have no problem with. Yeah, by the way, you played against so many

great players. Regardless of position, you're considered the best player ever. Who is the second best player or the best opponent you ever faced at any position? Deion Sanders and Dale Green. Two of the best cornerbacks ever that had a 4-1. They could run a 4-1, 4-2-40 or something like that. Had so much speed, but then decided to really work on their craft and become one of those dominant cornerbacks to ever play the game. America's game, the NFL at 100. We got to go.

Jerry Rice, 20 years, 13 Pro Bowls. No doubt the greatest receiver of all time. Thank you, Jerry. Hey, thanks for having me. You bet. By the way, when you watch the video of Jerry Rice, you know, there are athletes you see. Like when you see Michael Jordan.

You'll watch Michael Jordan video 30 years from now, and you'll be like, oh, he was good. Jerry Rice, if he walked into the league today, looks so much faster than everybody else. His length, you'll watch Jerry Rice a hundred years from now. They'll show Jerry Rice film. You're like, oh, he would start a day.

By the way, sports have about 1% of the guys. can transend eras 10 years later. Jerry Rice, that video today is shocking how great he was. It's The Herd. One more Heard? The Herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Oh, here we go. We're live in L.A. at Tower 3. Big news. Big news. Big news. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy, Taylor here as well.

We're on Sirius XM Channel 83. Andrew Whitworth, who's just an amazing guest. Akeed to leave last hour was just a riot. I love guys who play in the league, and they come on the show, and they can give you the ins and the outs of the league. Andrew Whitworth, great guy, great left tackle. Pro Boulder is going to get a lot of Hall of Fame votes. He's coming up.

He'll be up in about 15 minutes. We do have no breaking news. This happened late last hour. Cam Newton on the IR, done for the season. And I'll tell you something. I would move off Cam Newton, and I'll tell you, As an organization, I'd move off him. I think it's the perfect time.

He's not a big cap hit. He's struggling to stay healthy. You've got a replacement now. I think he's been very hard and distracted to coach. Never had back-to-back winning seasons. I think the CAM experiment's done. It's interesting. There are certain teams in the NFL ask yourself,

is Carolina going to be fear-based? The New York Giants for years were fear-based with Eli Manning, and they stunk. And Cincinnati for years has been fear-based with Andy Dalton, and they stunk. And Tennessee knew Marioo wasn't the guy two years ago and they were fear-based.

And now they get Tannahill and they're better. Chicago, we can't move off Mitch Trubisky. They're dead. All these teams that know the truth. Chicago knows Trubisky's not the guy. They knew in New York, Eli, wasn't the guy. They knew in Tennessee,

Marioita wasn't the guy. But they're fear-based. They worry about press and, oh, my God, what will the media say? And how does it work in the locker room? The organizations that move off guys. Because we all know the truth in life, right? You're in a relationship. You know if it works or it doesn't. Like Philadelphia is like, we're into Carson Wentz. We don't care what you think.

We're in. I mean, Rams with Goff. We think he's good. We see him at practice. We're all in. And you guys can push back on Wenton and Goff, but those organizations, John Harbaugh is like, no, we can win with this. We can, this is going to be a disruptor in the league. Carolina, it's not working. And they know it's not working. They know he's distracted. There's a lot of stuff that hasn't been reported. They know he's increasingly hurt.

They know he's not a cap hit. They know since he's left, suddenly all their offensive pieces, they're really good. They've got a distributor. They've got a kid now in the Kyle Allen that they like and it's working. They're a real team. I mean, they had a stinker against San Francisco, but they haven't lost since Kyle Allen walked in the door. So the question will be is Carolina petrified to make the big move?

Because I've seen these organizations. I saw the Giants with Eli, Dalton with Cincinnati, Mariotta. You know, you know, it's not working. Now, sometimes you get trapped. Minnesota's like, we don't have a quarterback. We know Case Keenom's not the guy. We're going to overpay for Kirk Cousins. But now we are in second year of that, and it's okay.

It's okay. But these organizations, they know the truth. We always know the truth in life. Are you willing to take some blowback with Cam? I would. I'd say, yeah, we did it. We got the Super Bowl. He won an MVP.

We sold a lot of jerseys, and it was fun. But we're over it. It's a precision league. He's not a precision thrower. And increasingly, he's hurt a lot. I mean, he's a big guy that took a lot of shots. I think Pittsburgh, by the way, I said this earlier. I wouldn't have given big ban a three-year contract.

Now, I would have, listen, I would have given him maybe a one or a two with a friendly second year out. But I mean, I think Pittsburgh knows, you know, Big Ben increasingly is hurt. Now, they don't have a backup that's winning games as much as Mason Rudolph's got limitations. But I guess my whole point is, you want to be fear-based or you want to be honest with yourself. And if you're honest in Carolina, it's time to move on. Later and best for last, we'll grade every single hand out report cards. A's, B, C, D, and there's a couple fails.

And we'll surprise you on a couple. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays and noon Easter. 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Don't be the guy in the room of the long sloppy looking on tuck shirt. Untucka.com. Code heard 20% off. Andrew Whitworth is going to get a lot of Hall of Fame votes. 14 years in the NFL. Multiple time Pro Bowl or four times.

World-class guy. And the Rams brought him in and Jared Goff had time to throw. And to a large degree, Sean McVeigh and Andrew Whitworth helped elevate and save Jared Goff's career because in this sport, if you have the wrong left tackle or the wrong coach as a quarterback, it makes it very difficult. It's great to have you in. We'll get to the LSU stuff because it's fascinating. You were part of Nick Saban's first recruiting class at LSU, and we will get to that in the back end. I want to start with this, that you have been in this league a long time. So you break into this league in 2006. And then you move around, L.A. comes and gets you.

It was not only a team change, it was a cultural change. Go back to 2006. there are not many Andrew Whitworth's left in the league. I would say offensive line has deteriorated more than any unit in my life. It is just talk about what practice was like, what they asked of you, because it feels like now in the NFL, if you get an Andrew Whitworth, you just want him to play as long. They're going to ask you for the next nine years. Okay, we'll drive you to the games.

No hitting until Sunday. Go back to 2006. What was practice like in the NFL? Well, it was a lot different it is now, that's for sure. I mean, it was, you know, obviously you did two of days back then. You had, you know, I don't know,

one-on-one pass rush and everything else, multiple times a day and a lot of impact, a lot of hitting. And it was a much different game. But, you know, at the same time, I think also that, you know, I would be doing a discredit to the guys who play now if I didn't say that, you know,

the game asks a whole lot more of you as a lineman now too as well. I mean, a lot of the rules have changed, where you can put your hands, how you can block someone, what's holding, what's not, you know, the physicality, you know, that people really see on TV with receivers with DBs. I mean, that's more obvious to the eye of the fan, but really the physicality that was played with in the line beforehand isn't allowed now. I mean, a lot of the stuff of like you can't even, you know, get a guy on the ground

and then dump them on the ground more, you know, now, like if a guy falls down, you have to stay off of them, that kind of deal. You know, there's a lot of rules that now have kind of affected that physicality that made offensive line and offensive alignment who they were. and that part of that game. And so I think the challenges are different. The ball spread everywhere. You know, you're facing elite rushers and we're throwing it 50 times.

You know, when I played in the league, it's crazy. When I got in the league, it was, you know, we were under center every play. And third down, we might get in the shotgun in 06, you know, because it was third and 12. But outside of that, it was like, oh, well, all the past plays is just under center. And, you know, the D-Limon's going to line up right over the top of you and you get on them and you mall them and you keep them away from the quarterback. Now it's, you know what, we're going to sit in the gun. They're going to know its pass. and we're going to throw it as many times as we want.

And that's how the league is now. And so it's a much bigger challenge than it used to be, in my opinion, to pass protect. By the way, we're getting these DeBosso brothers. We're getting these Khalil Mack. In your 13, 14 years in the league, the edge rusher position, they're like the athlete on the team. Are you facing better athletes today? There's no question.

I mean, when you mix power, speed, athleticism, no question. When I got in the league in 06, you might face a, you know, a Richard Seymour, who's just a big human and really strong, but he's not going to blow by you and have all this athleticism, that if you can get on them and be strong and stout, the guys who weren't able to be stout might get beat by him, but the guys who were strong and big linemen, they'd stop him, you know, but he would be ability to beat everybody.

These guys now, I mean, their speed, their power, their athleticism, it really doesn't matter what your traits are. They're good enough. They're going to get to the quarterback eventually. And there's almost no way to have a guy that's like, hey, you can kind of stop this guy because he's not this. I mean, all of them kind of have a little bit of it all. I mean, Khalil Mack can run by you.

He can shake you. He can lift you up with that left arm under he does and tosses guys. I mean, and you know what? Nick Bosa, you know, obviously Joey's had success, but Nick has come in and he's a powerful rusher in the same way. I mean, rushes a lot like Khalil in the sense of how he tries to get under you and power you with speed. And, you know what?

I mean, it seems like every year my list of guys I circle when I'm studying in the offseason. It's like, man, used to, like eight of the 16, we're like, okay, it's going to take some preparation and mental thought beforehand for I play this guy. Now it's like, you know what? I'm trying to find one where I'm like, all right, well, I feel just comfortable this week. I don't have to over prepare for this guy. It's quite a challenge right now. You lose a Super Bowl, and there's always been this team that loses the Super Bowl, half of them don't make the playoffs. You guys start a little choppy, but it does feel like in the last two weeks. I had an executive at a rival team say this,

he said, you don't want any part of the Rams. They got four legit receivers, two tight ends. He's like, the offensive lines getting healthy. It does feel like, you know, Andrew, you go through these seasons, it feels like they're two and three seasons inside of it. The Rams feel like the offense now, did it take a while? Is there a Super Bowl hangover? Did it take a while to find the footing this year?

Yeah, I think every year you go through that phase of finding your identity. I think the Ravens were a perfect example of that sunny night. I mean, you watched a football team that the biggest thing you took away from that game is this team knows who they are. Exactly. And I think that, you know what, for us really finding the footing of, you know, people talk about new linemen. Well, it's not just the continuity of new young linemen, but it's the continuity of the coaches understanding what do these guys do well? How do what kind of plays do they block better than others? What are the kind of plays that put us in the best position to win with these guys?

I mean, every different linemen block certain plays, execute certain blocks. differently. And so it's, it's a, it's a thing of the line getting continuity, the quarterback and us getting continuity together. I mean, obviously when you're under center and you're talking about the quarterback and the center now being a new guy, them learning each other and understanding snap counts and understanding each other what you want. This is a complicated game. It is. And so there's a lot that goes into it. And I think that it's, it takes a process. And then it didn't help that, you know, guys are getting hurt and banged up and you're flipping guys in and out. And so I think there's just a lot of that that happens. And then you go, all right.

How do we reset ourselves? Let's start just one play at a time, one day at a time and say, all right, let's just be us and, you know, calm everything down. And I think that that's what's happened to us over the last couple weeks. And really, you know, little steps have been made, even in some of the games we didn't win, that we go, you know what? If we can keep going this direction, this is what we want. And I think that's what we feel right now coming out of this by week. The one team in the NFL, and it's a largely their defensive line that looks different. I mean, San Francisco sort of understanding.

unraveled Carolina. Baker Mayfield was running for his life. You guys really struggled. Talk a little bit about the Niners. It's just a bunch of first round draft picks. I mean, even Solomon Thomas was the number two pick. He's a tweener maybe, but he's coming in to back up the first round pick. Is San Francisco's defensive front? Is it as good in the last four or five years as anything talent-wise you've faced? Yeah, I think talent-wise, they've got a ton of it up there. And they got a good mixture, like I was saying before, when you might would play teams that kind of have one guy. This group seems to have, you know,

really tall, long, athletic, big guys, and then a mixture of a guy like Nick Bosa who can push the pocket and calls through interruption and then a speed guy, you know, and so it's like, man, you know what? It's like, I don't know who we're going to block or focus on, but really all four guys have the potential to win every snap. And so, you know, you really

look at what they do offensively is what also helps their defensive line have such a great opportunity. Because really that offense, similar to how we run, is possessing the football a lot. And even if they don't score, they're marching down the field, and it takes a long process. So offensively for you, you only get a couple shots against them.

And if you have bad drives or bad first play, and you get yourself in a second and 12 or third and long against that group, they're going to get to play off coverage, and they're going to rush those four guys and say, one of them's going to get close enough to where this ball's got to get out, and we get to sit back and kind of dictate the terms. And so really it's one of those things, that that offense and the way they're able to possess the ball and do so many multiple things.

It's really, it's success. It's winning football. They kind of know who they are too right now. Now, you would also argue they've had some games that, you know, what, some teams have kind of fallen apart at the end or some bounces have gone their way. So I think they're a very good football team. I think really, though, as we've all seen, the last eight games of the season, it really starts to unravel, you know, whether all that stuff holds together. It is interesting. You play in Los Angeles, so whether it's not a factor. But, you know, Thanksgiving on, you're playing in hail. sleet, snow, like the game changes, right? You guys got to go on the road and play. You're lucky in the West because you go to a dome. You go, Seattle's a little cold and chilly, but that's about it.

When you watched Lamar Jackson running the other night, it was kind of fascinating. I was fascinated. I said this. The Raiders are just sort of noisy and dramatic. I can't take my eyes off him. And not going to lie, Lamar Jackson's like nothing I've seen since Michael Vick. I can't take my eyes off him. He's not mobile.

He's the fastest guy in the football field. Would it be unique? to be an offensive lineman for Baltimore where you can make an argument, they're much better when he runs than when he throws. What would it be like to adapt to that? You know what? I think any lineman would say that's pretty fun.

I mean, you get a chance to run block a lot. You like run blocking. I think that's every lineman's dream. Really? To not be on an island having to worry about whether the ball's getting out or, you know, it's really the only time we get talked about is in a past play when all of a sudden the quarterback's getting hit. Now, you know, that's the only time they look up,

well, who was that and what number he was? you know but if the ball's the ball's being ran you're running it successfully it's all about who's carrying the football so that's the truth of being an old lineman but i mean i'm sure those guys love it they love the intensity and passion they get to go out and say hey you know what we got a guy that not only when we run it do we get to just let loose and let him be special and obviously mark ingram's a heck of a player too but now when we throw it this guy he might just make people miss and go do his own thing as well so i think that creates a confidence i mean really all these things come back to identity and confidence and i think it gives those guys up front an ability to say, hey, our identity and our confidence is in,

we got somebody special back there. And if we just do a part of our job or do our job great, then we're going to be really special. And I think that's something that just makes linemen play at a different level when they see that around them. Isn't that interesting that a lineman, when you pass, that's when we talk about you guys. But if you can just mall, that's fun. We're having fun and nobody's talking about it. So it's great. Okay, LSU, Bama this weekend.

I like Bama if Tua plays. If he doesn't, good luck. let's go back so you go to LSU and you were part of Nick Sabin's first LSU class so talk about the home visit he comes and sees you you were obvious you had to have been a great high school player and talk about just the personality of Sabin because I'm sure you had everybody in the SEC after you how do you sell you well really for me I was growing up in Louisiana I actually was never really that much of an LSU fan I was a huge Steve Spurrier and the Florida Gators I was a big guy played tight in in high school and I thought I was going to be the next big tall tight in over the middle for the Florida gators for forever actually thought about committing there and right before I decided I went to Florida I visited and decided I was going to commit there in the fall and the LSU called again and we're like hey you know what you know coach Sabin wants a chance to sit down with you and meet you and want you to come to the university for a little camp they had

so I go we get a chance to sit down and something about the guy the moment I had sat down with him I understood that he was different. And there was an intensity and just a passion that was unlike any coach I'd really sat down with. Wow. Just the detail to how he explained, what he wanted to do, how he wanted to do it. And to me, I've always said, you know, meeting Sean McVeigh and being around Bill Belichick, because Nick and Bill were friends and Bill would come to LSU in the off-season. Oh, he would.

And, you know, being around, I've always said when I met Sean that that passion is the same kind of passion, intensity that I remember from Nick. and it's really something that drew me to Sean the first time I got a chance to meet him. And I think that Nick is one of those guys that's just extremely special. There are just not many people that can do that job or do any job really with the intensity

day in and day out and focused day in and day out regardless of circumstance, win, lose anything. He doesn't care if he just won the national championship. The next moment, the next thing that he has to do to make that team better is the only thing he's focused on. And it's extremely rare. Andrew, did he say to you,

Listen, young man, you're a fine tight end. I'm moving you to left tackle. Well, I think every single college knew they were moving me to left tackle. I just didn't know it. So I thought I was a lot more athletic than I was. But you know what? It was one of those things that finally my senior year in high school, I realized, hey, this is going to be the position I'm going to play.

And so I ended up moving in to tackle my senior year. And we won a state championship and, you know, had a really special year. And then when I went to LSU, I really got there. opportunities I say I had the worst circumstance my freshman year they had a full starting five at lSU that they had and all of them were veterans so it really wasn't a spot for me so I got to be the sixth guy but a red shirt freshman so I had to dress prepare and go out and be ready to play in every single game but never did and so I uh all my all my freshman buddies would be texting me at home you know enjoying their red shirt year and I'm like you know I'm here but I'm not playing but you know

what ended up being the best thing for me because two years later I went a national championship against Oklahoma and, you know, playing for Nick, and I'll never forget it. Andrew Whitworth joining us, 14 NFL seasons, 11 in Cincinnati, three for the ramp. Boy, you've had good coaches. We have Marvin Lewis, Sean McVeigh and Bill Belichick, Saban, and Sabin's relationship with Bill. You know, Bill's funny. People say Bill's funny. I've never seen it, but they say it. Saban actually is funny.

I've seen Saban be funny. Yeah, I agree. I think that knowing Nick and his personality and also watching Bill and press conference, everything else, like, I just know, like, what he's actually thinking with the comments that are coming out of his mouth. And that part's funny to me because being around Nick and how he handles it too in the media and how annoyed they get with things that they're just like, why would you ask me that? You know, it's just Bill has a different way of answering it than Nick does, but I already kind of know the mentality that's coming out of what he's saying, and I just love it.

I think it's hilarious. How do you feel physically? You can obviously, you're playing at a high level. How do you feel when you get up now 14 years in the league? Honestly, I feel great. I mean, you know, I feel like I've done a really good job of taking care of my body. You do. And really preparing myself year and year out.

And I'm lighter than I've ever played right now. What do you weigh? I'm probably right at 310, 311. Wow. And, you know, one time in the league, I tell the young guys, I'll tell me. At one time I played at 355, 36. I mean. Like, Lord.

So the game's changed. It's faster. It's changed. You have to. And I feel like that's the thing. If I said, hey, what do you feel proud of in these last six, seven years of your career that you've been able to do? It's really my ability to adapt and say, hey, you know what, what do I need to be? What kind of linemen do I need to be to be successful?

And how willing am I am to put in the work to be able to create that person and that body type and really the ability to stay in this league. And so obviously you have to stay healthy and then you've got to take care of yourself. And so I feel great, man. I still feel like I've got more football in me. I hope these next eight go great. more football ahead of us and I hope to have more football in 2020. I know they want you. Believe me, coaches are dying. They're just going to keep talking you into playing because we see what's happening with the offensive lines. Andrew Whitworth,

four-time Pro Bowler. A lot of Hall of Fame votes here. Hope you stay for a while. And it was a pleasure to have you again. I love when you come in, share with our audience. We learn stuff every time you're here. Hey, I appreciate it. Thank you. You bet. Joy with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Chargers to London thing is getting interesting. The Chargers are supposed to be moving to a new $4.5 billion stadium next season that they will share with the Rams. But according to the Athletic, the possibility of the Chargers moving to London has been

discussed among league personnel. A high-ranking NFL officials said, some would be happy, meaning the owners, but all of them are concerned about them in L.A., so I think they would get support. However, Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, who's very influential in these types of of things. Yes, he is. He doesn't think the move is going to happen. No.

The Chargers are committed to their future in Los Angeles. In a fabulous stadium, they're a great franchise. They're going to be a big part of the Los Angeles sports scene. He would know, by the way, because he's buddies with Stan Cronkey, who owns the Rams. If something was going on, Jerry would know. Well, Chargers owner, Dean Spanos, spoke to local Chargers reporters about potential move today. Oh.

And he said it's total bleeping bleep bleep, we're not going to London. We're not going anywhere. This is where I plan to be for a long bleeping time. How about this? If Deshawn Watson got a prototype, or Russell Wilson got drafted by the Chargers, do you think they got really good all of a sudden? I think you need the right, because Philip Rivers, by the way, Joy, he doesn't want to live in Los Angeles, then moving to a stadium.

It really comes down to, they have to find their next quarterback. If you get a special quarterback, you can't tell me people won't want to watch the Chargers. Winning solves everything. Everything. But I will say this. L.A. is different than a lot of cities. Or every city. Maybe every city in the country.

New York is the closest. And I mean, I think New York is actually. miles apart because their franchises have been there for a long time and have deep roots. The situation with sports teams in Los Angeles is you have two of everything. Right. And you have people from all over the world who have brought their loyalties to other teams, from other teams with them to L.A. and are sticking with it. That's why a lot of these home games in L.A. for the Chargers and for the Rams

look overwhelmingly like away games because there's so many fans from so many different places in the world here that still support their team from somewhere else. So it's a very unique situation. And on top of it, you have the Rams who were in the Super Bowl last year. Well, think about this. Think about this, Joy. We were just talking about this morning at the meeting. So you can make an argument, and this morning, I believe it,

the two best NBA teams are the Clippers and the Lakers. I've watched everybody in the NBA that's good. They look like the two best teams. LAAFC is the best soccer team. The Dodgers win their division every year. you've got if USC is going to hire a new coach and if it's a, you know, a big coach

and they win. So I got a great baseball team. I've got two great, maybe the two best NBA teams. I have two colleges. I've got a beach, mountains, and 72 degrees. It is hard.

Like, this town will bail on you. And there's no loyalty to the Chargers because they never were our team, right? If you live in L.A., they were San Diego's team. Yeah. I mean, and you also have hockey. You haven't considered everything I just said about all the people that are here that are still fans of other teams that aren't going to flip to Rams or Clippers or Lakers or USC or UCLA.

Like they're sticking with their teams when they come in town. So they're not buying season tickets. There's a lot of factors here, including the mountains and the beach and everything else that there is to do here. It's a very distracted sports market. Yes. And that doesn't mean there's not great sports fans, but there's just a lot going on here. So I don't think that they, I don't know how much I lend to the. the London move. What I take away from that is what we always talk about, where did the story come

from? I think a lot of the owners are concerned, because what does it always come down to, money, about how the charges are going to do in LA because of all those factors. So Saquan Barkley was brought up by the Cowboys defense last night in the 37-18 loss. He was held only 28 rush yards and 67 receiving yards, and he talked about the disappointing season so far. We're struggling right now and things are going on our way. I'm not going to lose my focus. I'm not going to lose belief in this team. And this coaching staff, I'm just going to continue to come to work every single day. And I know, I know for 100% sure that it will turn around.

Just have to turn around as soon as we like it to me. Can't just cry about it. It's part of football. It's part of your profession, part of your job. You just got to go back, watch film and learn from it and try to get better throughout the rest of the season and focus on the next game with that being the Jets. Yeah, the Giants have a lot of issues. A lot.

GM, coach. A lot. That was tough to. to watch last night. I'm not going to lie. I think I was just talking to about it earlier. Daniel Jones just looked he looks lost out there. I mean, he's, he had his eighth

loss his eighth fumble of the season. Obviously, in that final play that we were just showing, it's his tenth fumble of the season, the eighth one that he lost. New York football is broken. Giants Jets. New York football is broken. And it's really listening to Sakelon Barkley, it's always rough when you have a situation like that and you have a superstar

like Sakewan Barkley who is entering into the prime of his career. He's already playing incredible one is basically the backbone of the team and they can't get it together for him. It's almost like, I don't know if it's wasted years, but it's just like you would like to see them get on track so that he can maximize the potential of his career.

So hopefully in the next two years, they'll figure it out. Finally, Alabama faces off with LSU this Saturday and the quarterback for Alabama to a Tunga is recovering from an ankle surgery. and Nick Saban shared his plan in preparation for the big game. Been pretty consistent on the message with Tua. You know, if he can play in the game, it'll be a game time decision. You know, he did practice two days last week.

We'll see where he's at today. And then we'll manage the reps accordingly. And when I say that, we cannot predict. You know, if he goes out there today and he looks good, then his rep count is going to go up and we'll prepare him as if he's. he's going to have an opportunity to play in the game. If he has a setback during the week, we can't really control that,

but that would change the plan. Well, LSU head coach at Orgeron said he has no doubt that Tua will play, so I'm sure they're going through their preparations, assuming that he is going to play. He underwent the procedure on October 20th, so that's what, three weeks ago? That's not right. For a high ankle, that's pretty quick. Reggie Bush was on with us earlier talking about how lingering this particular injury is,

and we've seen this around the NFL a lot this year too. He missed the game against Arkansas. If this wasn't a game against LSU, we likely wouldn't even be having a conversation about him playing, which I don't love. And so this is kind of an interesting situation for Nick Sabian and Alabama and Tua because Tua is going to be a high draft pick.

Do you put him in a situation where you could make it worse for this LSU game if he wouldn't be playing if it was an LSU? He's got to think about his future, obviously, as well. Alabama's got a lot of Auburns. a real defense. Georgia's loaded. Georgia looked great this past weekend. LSU. I mean, it's, listen, we all know this.

They weren't playing LSU. You don't play them. Right. As simple as that. I think that makes it a very complicated decision as well. So do I. I think LSU wins this game. Ooh, I like Bama.

It'll be the game of the day. Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. Yeah, Nick's had his way with LSU, but LSU hadn't had a quarterback

that can, this is like a different LSU offense. They throw the ball down the field. Coming up, I give every NFL team a mid-season grade. Report cards handed out next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. This week on Thursday night football,

it's an AFC West showdown. As Phillip Rivers and the Chargers take on Derek Carr and the Raiders, it all starts at 730 Eastern, 430 Pacific on Fox NFL Network and streaming on Prime Video. that actually is a great game. That's a great game.

Watch the chargers who are now healthy going to roll. And the Raiders have been to me the shock of the league. That's a great game. By the way, get better, feel better with MDrive. Go to MDrive for Men.com. The code has heard 20% off your first order. MDrive for Men.com code H-E-R-D. A lot of different things.

we'll get to in a second. College football unveils their playoff picture tonight. So we'll get into that. I think it's the easiest unveiling they've ever had to do. But I thought we're midway through the NFL season. And not just based on grades, but if I was a professor at Cowherd, and I had to give out midterm grades today. And I always got nervous as a kid taking tests and midterm grades.

But I'm going to hand out my midterm grades today. So here we go. I'm going to give my A students are the Patriots, Raven, Saints, and 49ers. First of all, the Patriots had a very rough test on Sunday, but they still come prepared every week. Ravens, good for you. I don't think I've had a student who I didn't know which way it was going to go that's worked harder. New Orleans, congratulations. Not everything has gone your way, but you've overcome some obstacles.

And we knew you were bright San Francisco. but you have aced every test our surprise A student the San Francisco 49ers. Are B students. Bill's Texans, Chiefs, Cowboys, Packers, Panthers, C hawks, Rams. Chiefs and Packers deserve B-plus bordering on A.

Their records, their test scores not quite as high, but they've overcome star quarterbacks getting hurt. The Rams were a C student until the last two weeks, and they have turned it up a notch. My daughter always talks about that. Dad, it's not how you start these semesters. It's how you finish. The Rams have finished very strongly this semester.

They're a B student. C students would be Steelers, Colts, Jags, Raiders, Chargers, Eagles, Vikings, Lions, Cardinals. Colts stop relying on a 46-year-old kicker. You thought you were getting a B, do better. And Raiders are a C-plus-plus. you don't pay attention, you're noisy and overly dramatic, and as a teacher, you drive me nuts.

But you know what? When you turn the work in, it's pretty good. Only one done this year, pretty good, Raiders. And I'll give the Cardinals a C-minus, but none of my students have done more with less than the Arizona Cardinals. You may be a C-minus, but my expectations were significantly lower coming into this semester. You get a C. My D students.

Dolphins, Browns, Titans, Broncos, Giants, Bears, Buccaneers. Titans, how many years in a row of you disappointed me? Homeworks O is late. I expect a B, I get a D. Browns, I've never had a more distracted student in my life. Dolphins, you're not the brightest kid, but nobody works harder. Nobody works harder than you, Miami. I can't fail you.

And finally, my F students, the Jets, you're too gossipy, the Bengals, skins are too ill-prepared. In Atlanta, you were an A student three years ago. What happened to you? Atlanta now is a failing grade. And there's Professor Cowhert handing him out. I like that. We were very fair there.

I thought it was very fair. Tennessee, I'm done babysitting you. You're a D student now. I'm over it. And it's too late with Ryan Tanna Hill. You should have done that six weeks ago. It's too late. All right.

So college football tonight has its big playoff or they're going to unveil their seating tonight, their brackets. To me, this is the easiest ever. And here's the order I'd put him in. LSU is undefeated, has the most quality wins, and was willing to schedule Texas out of conference and beat them handily. Not saying to the best team. I'm saying, given what I have seen this year in college football, I would put them number one. Ohio State's number two. Undefeated, like LSU, crushed a very solid opponent, Wisconsin, but they had a weaker out-of-conference schedule.

They didn't get on the phone and call a Texas. That is the price you pay. The off-season phone call, Ohio States 2. Alabama has three. Now, Alabama schedule has been pathetic, but they have crushed who they have played. I don't. Now, they did go and call Duke a basketball school up to schedule a game, but that didn't impress me in the ASCC's a mess.

And finally, Penn State, much like Alabama, I don't love your out-of-conference schedule. You have a marginal win over Pitt. Bama's got a marginal win over, you know, Texas A&M, what does that mean? But unlike Bama, you're winning close. You beat Michigan close. You beat Iowa close. So to me, this is the easiest one ever. LSU, Ohio State, Bama, third, Penn State, four.

I would have Clemson 5. I think the ACC is the weakest of the big five conferences, and you get on the phone and call up Wofford. You know, I just can't. You put that on your schedule. I'm not interested. So now the good news is this will all get cleared out. Bam and LSU play this weekend.

Penn State, Ohio State play in a couple weekends. So Clemson will end up being in there. And we always get all hyped up about this, but you know and I know. In four or five weeks, all the big games, are coming and they'll probably be one, maybe two undefeated teams. I'm not even sure Alabama's going to be undefeated. Clemson, because of their conference, will be undefeated. This will all clear. Joel Clatt is on the show tomorrow to talk about all of this stuff. Nick Wright, Chris Broussard with us tomorrow as well. See you tomorrow. Speak for yourself next. Last night, a blown call changed

a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting the 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicel Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast 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 partying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game 7, Marquis keep coming 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 I Heart Radio. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.