The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Cowboys, Rams, Super Bowl teams, and Baker Mayfield

Episode Date: October 16, 2019

Colin discusses the uncertainty of Dallas Cowboys HC Jason Garrett, why the Los Angeles Rams traded for Jalen Ramsey, the 8 teams he believes can win the Super Bowl, and his thoughts on Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield's decision making. Guests include Doug Gottlieb, Joel Klatt, Steve Palazzolo, and Bucky Brooks, Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a packed Wednesday. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1. I'm going to start with the Cowboys, then go to the Rams. Here is Joy Taylor joining me. Joy, how are you?

I'm great. Good morning. Good morning. It was going to be kind of a, you know, Wednesdays are the day that's kind of the middle of the week for the NFL. Yeah, it's kind of the slowest day of the week during the NFL season. Monday's Tuesdays.

We're talking about Monday night football in the games. And Thursday, Friday got Thursday night football and the games coming up in college football. And Wednesday's kind of slow. But no, it's not. So a big trade. But let's start with the Dallas Cowboys. So listen, Jerry Jones,

Jason Garrett, it's heating up. It's a lot of talk now. Jason Garrett doesn't have a contract. And unlike the story that Jerry has offered DACA new deal, they just haven't agreed on it, he has not offered Jason Garrett a deal. So in Dallas, they're pouncing on it. If they lose Sunday, they're now a football team that looks like on the out looking in.

They have some of the best young talent. So Jerry Jones goes on radio yesterday to make a point of supporting Jason Garrett, his coach, who's now on the hot seat at least from the media and fans' perspective. I have felt that we've got a lot invested in Jason Garrett. He's evolved into what I think is a top coach. He would be a very sought-up for coach if he were out here in the open market. But he's aware that we're on the last year of his agreement. But that really just means that we can all sit down and take a look at things at the end of the year.

Okay. Would he be sought after? So let's just start with that. He actually would be. The NFL's got six or seven openings every year. And let's be honest, the best available coach on the market that's actually won divisions is Mike McCarthy. And Green Bay may be better without him. Then you've got four college coaches whose names are out there, Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, Lincoln, Riley, Oklahoma, Matt Rulett, Baylor, Matt Campbell at Iowa State.

Then you got a couple of young coaches, Eric B. Enemy, Kansas City, Chris Richard, Dallas, who have never been given an opportunity. They will get one. Then two guys like Todd Bowles and Mike Patton, who have been head coaches failed, but people think they probably deserve a second chance. Jason Garrett fits very nicely into that. There's not a lot of guarantees. I mean, after Mike McCarthy, who could you say, yeah, he's won divisions in the NFL, and nobody out there? I mean, Rex Ryan, you want to go down that nonsense again?

Mr. Guaranteed Super Bowl guy. So Jason Garrett would have offers, and there's about six, seven job openings. We already know Washington's going to look for a coach. Keep your eye on Cleveland. Jacksonville. You know, teams going a five-game losing streak. Minnesota, Mike Zimmer could be in trouble, and he's a great coach. So I do think on the open market, how many guys can say, oh, yes, one division,

multiple times. Oh, who was his quarterback? Dak Prescott. That's going to get a job. But I think Jerry already knows who his next coach is. I'm not sure he's ready to hire him, but I know who Jerry's next coach is when he decides to hire him. Maybe this year, it may be two years down the road.

It's Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, and there's two reasons why I think Lincoln Riley is going to accept it when Jerry offers. Now, I'm not saying he's going to offer it now. There's two things happening to think about. Lincoln Riley, first of all, is brilliant. He makes every quarterback work. So just think about these two or three things.

Number one, he made Baker Mayfield into a star. Jalen Hertz was benched in Alabama. He's a star. Kyler Murray was a baseball guy over a football guy, made him into a star. Dak Prescott. That'd be a pretty good fit now, wouldn't it? A quarterback who needs another level. Secondly, there's a major burnout factor happening in college football for coaches.

It used to be there was a National Letter of Intent Day on February 5th. Now there's two signing dates, meaning college. football recruiting is a non-stop job. It used to be you had time off. There were times you didn't recruit. There were big gaps in it. And the feeling was college football lives as a coach was better than the NFL life. It was less of a grind.

You lived in a small town. You controlled the roster. The media was small market. They weren't banging on you all the time. You got more time off with your wife and kids. It was a great life. It's not as great a life as it used to be. Now they've got two signing days and it's burning out these coaches.

Brian Kelly has told people, I can't do this very long. The third factor is Lincoln Riley's had four quarterbacks by next year and four years. This wacky transfer portal thing empowers the kid. I get it. I'm for it. But it is made the quarterback position. If Daddy's not happy and you're not starting, kids are out. It is a non-stop psycho-analizing therapy sessions for these top college coach because you have to recruit two quarterbacks a year in case one gets hurt.

And immediately one of them is like, well, I'm not going to start. I don't like it here. Boom, I'm out. So, and it, you know, it empowers the player, and I don't blame the player. But these are the realities of Lincoln Riley. I think he's going to take this job. I just don't know when he's going to take it. And Jerry Jones has had success.

Think about this. Every time Jerry's won a Super Bowl, he hired a college coach. He hired Jimmy Johnson. No NFL experience. Won two Super Bowls. Got rid of him. There were other guys out there. He goes, I'm going to go get Barry Sweitzer.

He won a Super Bowl. So Jerry's reality is these college guys work. Jerry played college football. He watches college football. He loves college football. You'll see Jerry on a Saturday at a college football game. So he has a real connection to college football. Lincoln Riley is very much Jimmy Johnson.

You know, everybody knew Jimmy Johnson was going to work in the NFL when he was in college. You could just sense it. He was a great personnel guy. Everybody knows Lincoln Riley is going to work in the NFL. He's not as quirky as Chip Kelly, whereas, you know, his genius will transfer to the NFL. And I think there's a bunch of things working here. Cowboys need a coach who can get more at a dad. There's a burnout happening with college football coaches and all this recruiting now in the NCAA transfer portal.

It is a dance constantly trying to appease your quarterbacks in college football. So I think it's going to happen. I don't know when it's going to happen, but I think Jerry's got his guy. I think Jerry's got his guy. Just like Jerry had his guy when he got to own the Cowboys, Tom Landry, he had his guy. He had to get Jimmy, but he had his guy. All right, let me shift to this. yesterday the Los Angeles Rams did what, since they've moved to Los Angeles, what the Rams do.

They gave up a bunch of draft picks to get Jalen Ramsey. First of all, why did they do it? Well, San Francisco's 5 and 0. Seattle's 5 and 1, and if the Rams lose this weekend, the season's over. Now, you know, number two is it made sense. Marcus Peters, they didn't want him in the room anymore. He's not a great guy. They got him out of the room, and Akeep Taleb got hurt. They needed a corner.

So a lot of it just makes sense. But the other part of this is Los Angeles is different. It's relevance matters a lot in New York and Los Angeles. There's eight pro teams in Los Angeles. There's 31 music venues. Skiing, the beach, shopping, red carpet events. It's busy. It's distracted.

I mean, LeBron moves to town. A.D. moves to town. Kawhi Leonard moves to town. Paul George moves to town. The Dodgers are always good. USC is going to hire a new football coach. The reason USC is going to hire a new football coach, it doesn't matter if Clay Windsor loses the rest of the season.

They're not relevant. USC's on the seventh page of an eight-page sports section. They're not relevant. People just stopped going in L.A. The Rams lose two straight games. And this past weekend, the Coliseum was all-niner fans. Think about that. Seven games ago, the Rams were in the Super Bowl, in the Super Bowl with a wizard head coach.

And they go to two-game losing streak. In the Coliseum, it must have been a home game for the 49ers. Everybody in L.A. is like, that's nice out of here. You can have my tickets. That's L.A. and New York has more hardened fans. They're less willing because New York, let's be honest, six months of the year, the weather's lousy and don't want to go outside.

But in Los Angeles, entertainment capital of the world, what do you do? Marcus Peters, I talked about it on this show, had become corrosive in the locker room, get him out of here. Akeeb Taleb is hurt, and it's like, all right, we need a corner, let's get the best one on the market. And remember in Los Angeles, draft picks, nobody cares. they don't even care. LeBron goes to Cleveland, it's amazing.

We had a Laker team full of Coosmas and Brandon Ingram and Lanzo Ball and nobody cared. Remember when Kobe Bryant signed that contract his last couple of years? He signed a huge deal and everybody's like, it's kind of stunting the growth of all the young players. Do you know why they did that? Because Time Warner said, we're not giving you all those billions of dollars unless Kobe's on the team. We're not giving you that for Kyle Cusman, Lonzo Ball, and Julius Randall. L.A. and New York are different. Think about how big Chicago is. There are boroughs in New York bigger than Chicago. There's just too much ramifications, too much money. You got to be relevant. You know, NFL, two teams in L.A., two teams in New York, two baseball teams in L.A., two baseball teams in L.A., two soccer teams in L.A. You got major universities. So this keeps the, they're moving into a stadium next year. It's supposed to be the world's best stadium in Los Angeles. What are you going to say, hey, we've got a bunch of draft picks? Or are you going to say, we got the best corner. best defensive lineman. We've got the best this. We got the Sean McVeigh. They want to bring stars into that stadium. So it makes complete football sense. Are they going to pay a lot for them? Yes. But that's just the way it is. This is a highly distracted market. Two straight losses. The stadium this weekend was all 49er fans. And remember last year the Rams went for it. They did go for it last year. Remember they went and got Peters and Talib and Indomacan Su and they got them to the Super Bowl. So in the Rams eyes, it's like, yeah, this go for it. Thing works. Draft.

picks. Jalen Ramsey is a lot better than any first round pick in the draft. Now, do the Rams have to give up two first rounders at another pick? That was the market. And so, you know, Jacksonville's a small market. I mean, it's, it's, Jacksonville gets lost in Florida. Like Los Angeles, you got Kauai Leonard, Paul George, A.D. and LeBron in town. The NBA season starts in a week. What are you, you just going to lose this weekend and the season's over? Because I got news for you. nobody will go to the games. That's the way LA is. Nobody will go to the games.

USC is giving away tickets. So remember when the Clippers landed Kauai Leonard? Do you remember the comment from like Doc Rivers and Steve Ball? You know, Doc Rivers said if we didn't land him, I was just going to take the franchise to Seattle. Like that's how it felt. If you don't land Kauai Leonard and the Lakers have LeBron and AD, we're invisible. We are literally lost in this city. And that's how the Rams feel.

Open a new stadium. We're going to roll the dice. We need a corner anyway. Let's go get a star. Nobody in this town cares about draft picks. So sometimes in these big cities, it's not just football. It's business. The Kobe Bryant deal was business and basketball.

This is business and basketball. All right, great to have you in. I'll talk a little bit about Marcus Peters going to Baltimore. Michael Bennett. New England's like, we got rules here, play by him. And I'll give you my Super Bowl bubble. Every year, we talk about. parody in the NFL, and yet every time I do my Super Bowl bubble, it's always eight teams.

And I think once again this year, there's only eight teams in it. That's all 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

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

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

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growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff,

like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This line. You know these kids. 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, rep. My mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam?

This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. O'Dano and our podcast point game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,

I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. he has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night bases 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 to flyin. He running up the court licking his fingers while 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. Cold and flu season. Vic Synex nasal spray starts working within seconds. Last up to 12 hours, Vic Synex nasal spray use as directed. So 51 NFL games this year, Joy,

have been decided by seven points or less. That is the most ever through week six. So there's a few really bad teams at the bottom of the league. But the top of the league, the Kansas City's New England's are far from unbeatable. So we do have a few more awful teams this year. We Washington, Miami, and Cincinnati are awful. Oakland's been a great surprise. Chargers are worse than we thought. But as much as we talk about parity in this league, I always do, I unveil throughout the year.

I always have what I call my Super Bowl bubble, and it always comes down to eight teams. And I was sitting there thinking this morning, for all the parity, for all the close games, remember, every Sunday in the NFL, parity reigns supreme, except one Sunday, Super Bowl Sunday. That's not about parity.

There's a very finite number, a quarter most of the teams in the league that go win the Super Bowl. And this morning I wrote them down, I have, once again, I've got eight teams in my bubble and one close to the bubble. New England, Kansas City, Houston, Green Bay, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and the Saints can win the Super Bowl. And Dallas, give me about three more weeks. My guess is Dallas is not a Super Bowl team. Give me about three more weeks. Colin, how can you have Philadelphia in there? Only team to beat Green Bay, beat him at Lambo on national TV and dominated them thoroughly, physically up front, both sides of the ball.

What about Kansas City? What about Kansas City? Once they get healthy, they'll be fine. Okay, they've just been beat up. Philadelphia, Kansas City, let them get healthy. They've proven they can win big games. Carson Wentz is very good. I don't worry about Philadelphia.

Good GM, good owner, good coach, good quarterback, let them get healthy. And now there's five teams, five or six teams, I think, can win on any Sunday, except Super Bowl Sunday. I don't seem as elite. Chicago, Minnesota, Baltimore, Buffalo, Indy Carolina. I don't think they have the quarterback. I think they'll meet limitations. They've got a low ceiling. You need playmakers.

At the end of last year, the quarterbacks that were left were Mahomes and Brady and Breeze and golf. Golf, I like a lot. So there's six teams that are good, but I don't think they can win multiple games off and on the road in the NFL playoffs. The Rams, I think they're offensive line. I don't think they can fix it. Once they paid Todd Gurley, they have limitations. They opened up some money for Jalen Ramsey eventually. I just don't think they have the offensive line to win it.

Todd Gurley's contract's a nightmare, and they don't have a running game. And so that's where we stand. Dallas is the one team to me. You know, if they beat Philadelphia, they go in a little three-game winning streak. I do think they have the talent. They've won divisions. I think they have the pass rush. I think they have the weapons.

I think they have the running back, the offensive line. I think Jason Garrett's good enough to win a Super Bowl. I do. Dan Quinn got to a Super Bowl. Do I think Jason Garrett's as good as Dan Quinn? I do. So, and do I think, you know, again, if Philadelphia goes sideways, they win the division, they get a home game. You know, you don't have to play everybody in the NFC playoffs.

You know, somebody may knock San Francisco out of it. Somebody may knock Aaron Rogers out of it. So it's like March Madness. You don't have to play Duke to win it. You don't have to play Kentucky to win it. Sometimes they get knocked out before you face them. So eight teams in the Super Bowl. bubble, New England, Kansas City, Houston, New Orleans, Green Bay, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco.

Give me three war weeks with the Cowboys, and I think that's where we stand today. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. Injuries are really starting to pile up for the Cowboys ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Eagles. Amari Cooper could miss the game with a quad injury. He suffered in last week's loss to the Jets, and defensive end Tyrone Crawford will undergo season ending

hip surgery. Michael Irvin was on Philly radio this morning to talk about the game on Sunday, and he expressed some concerns for his former team's future. Honestly, it worries me. It worries me because Dallas has injuries in very key position right now, but I'm very concerned that the loser of this game may end up missing the playoff. He's not off on that. This is a really, really important game for both of the seems. Okay, what's Philadelphia's weakness? Secondary. Dallas's best perimeter weapon, Amari Cooper misses the game. So that's like a thing. Like, right? Like that's a real thing. Well, that and, I mean, we're not even discussing the offensive line issues. I mean, if you look at

the injury concerns for the Cowboys right now, it's staggering. I mean, you have Amari Cooper, Randall Cobb as back tightness, Tyrone Smith, obviously, and Lyle Collins, Byron Jones, Anthony Brown, Tyrone Crawford is out for the season. Do we know if Tyron Smith is going to play? I don't have a concern if he's going to play or not. He's questionable. He's not practicing today? No, that's not great. That's not great.

Tyron's getting, has had a great career, first ballot hall of famer, but he's, his injuries now are piling up. Well, yeah. I mean, what was the best offensive line in the league is now getting older and it's more injured. And that's probably playing a big role in DAC's success this year and Ezekiel Elliott not being as dynamic as he usually is. I mean, all these things play our hand in hand. It's a team game. Like we obviously focus on these individual players and DAC always gets, you know, the heat if they lose. But there are a lot of injuries going on with the Cowboys right now.

So it's, I mean, we talk about this with the Chiefs. Like the Chiefs are really banged up right now. You feel like they're going to be okay. The Cowboys don't feel the same way. Like these are injuries that if they don't get straightened out, they don't have the depth to make a run. So this game will be very interesting for the rest of the season. So the Rams had a blockbuster day yesterday, headlined by the acquisition of Jalen Ramsey. And they also made another big move by sending.

cornerback Marcus Peters to the Ravens for linebacker Kenny Young. Well, GM, Lesneed has never been one to shy away from big trades and he said he's made it clear. He is not afraid to do what it takes to win. He said, we're not going to be scared. We're not going to be reckless. Anytime you make a move, you do try to have protocols in place that can help you make sound decisions, but you're not playing for the tie. You're trying to go win. Well, they went and got the best corner in the league. Latimore for the Saints and Jalen Ramsey, to me, are the best corner. So, and by the way, Taleb got hurt. So it's not a crazy move. I mean, they were taught. Mark, if you watch

the Rams this year, like something happened to Marcus Peters, he was, he became a huge liability in the last three weeks. Yes, and now that Tel Aviv is hurt for, I mean, he's on injured reserve. So you had to make a move. It could be just for the rest of the season. I don't know if they're going to keep him there next year or pay him.

But be aggressive. And I don't have a problem with giving up draft picks. Like, we talk about it all the time. These teams just hoard all these draft picks. It's like, why would you not go for a known available player who doesn't have an injury history, who's available all the time, and plays the highest level.

How is that not more valuable than a bunch of draft picks? Well, also in that division with corners, you got Kyler Murray now, you got Jimmy Garapolo, you got Russell Wilson. Listen, you got great. Get a threat back there. Yeah, you better have elite corners. Or they'll just Russell Wilson.

I'm sorry. Like you did the one of the ways San Francisco gave Russell Wilson problems with Harbaugh is they had good corners. And like you said at the top of the show, this is L.A. You've got to be aggressive. Like the slow and steady stuff does not win the race around here. It doesn't. Like you've got to make big moves and fast. Finally, the Titans have made a big move.

They've made a change at quarterback. Ryan Tannahill will start Sunday against the Chargers in place of Marcus Marietta. The move comes after Tana Hill took over in the third quarter against Denver on Sunday after. Mario da through two interceptions. He has less than a two to one TD to interception ratio. He throws one touchdown per game. He just didn't, he just, he was,

you know what's funny? He came in as a rookie. Joy, he never got better. Like he came in at his ceiling and this is what he was. I was never a fan of Marcus Marriota or Winston in that draft. Like I didn't, I didn't see, I just didn't see it with either one of them. In college, sure, great. But I didn't see it in the NFL level.

I don't know what the purpose of. moving to Ryan Tannahill is, though? Well, I think the purpose is... I mean, do you feel like Ryan Tannahill is a massive step up for Marcus Marriota? He's better. Again, he's better. So if I go into a game as an NFL coach and I have two quarterbacks, I'll take the slightly better one.

I do think Tanna Hill's a better thrower of the football. I do. And I think he hasn't... I would just say I think Tanna Hill's better and I think their offensive weapons are actually pretty decent. I think their offensive weapons are pretty good. I just never know what to make of the Titans. And what happens moving forward after the C-East?

reason. Is it official now that you have moved off of Marcus Marriota? Yes, I think now they draft a quarterback. No question. They've moved off Marcus. And it's time, by the way. I mean, I hope so, because otherwise, benching him for Ryan Tannio, what is the point? Yeah, I think they've decided. Listen, I think Cincinnati should have done this years ago. Yes, no, that I agree with. Tennessee's offensive line is garbage, so not all this is on Marcus Mariotta. But let's stop now. I'm watching quarterbacks in this league. Aaron Rogers is losing fumbles, losing receivers, left and right in winning games. I'm done with excuses. If you're an elite quarterback,

you'll make it work. Brady's making it work. Russell's making it work. Rogers is making it work. Kyler Murray, by the way, if you look at his numbers, is starting to make it work with a terrible old line. So I'm done with the excuses for Mariotta. I just, I don't know. I guess I just feel like this should be more dramatic. Like this is the official notice for all of us that they've moved off of Marcus Marriota and we'll be dropped in a quarterback. But something makes me feel like if Ryan T. O'Neill goes out there and struggles, they'll put Mariotta back in. This doesn't feel like the full commitment to me. Listen, even when they make a quarterback change, Tennessee is boring. They're not even, even when they

dump their franchise quarterback, it's boring. They do it on a Wednesday. They can't even get the day right. They're just boring. So it's not just me because it doesn't feel like this should be a bigger announcement. I feel Tennessee should be bigger every year. They're just the most. They are just. They're very confusing. They're like, I like pancake

for breakfast and you don't put butter or syrup on it. You just have a pancake. They're like, again, what would be the point of that, right? I mean, you have to have a lot of water to digest that. Joy with the news. Well, that It's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Line news. All sorts of craziness yesterday. It was a lot of fun. Baltimore's like rolled all of the dice on Marcus Peters. Rams are like, it's not a roll of the dice. We'll take Jalen Ramsey. Let's bring on Doug Gottlieb. The Dugger, Fox Sports Radio, after my show.

The podcast, All Ball with Doug Gottlieb on DiTunes. Is a great listen, by the way. So let's start with a... It is funny. I'll throw a theory at you, Doug, is that we tend to think, and you were a great college athlete, that when a guy goes college to pro, there's a great learning curve.

They all get better. But there's a trend here. Andy Dalton starts for three years. Mariotta starts for three years. I can make an argument that Baker starts for three and a half years. Sometimes you're really close to that ceiling. Mariotta never got better than his rookie year. Vince Young, a three-year high school, three-year college starter.

Rookie year never got better. Whereas Kurt Warner, Kyler Murray, they come into the league, Sam Darnold. Huge growth. So it's like with Baker Mayfield. Did he enter the league pretty darn close to his ceiling? When I look at Marioada, I'm like, I think there's a trend here. And this is why I like Kyler Murray. He's just figuring out the position.

Well, I think, let's start with Marioada. He seemed to check so many boxes. Right, right. In terms of personality, leadership. And remember, he went back to school for another year. And if you look statistically, the likelihood of success is made even greater with every year you start in college. That's right. And so he checked all of those boxes.

I think, look, there's been a regime change, not just at head coach, but also in the front office. So there's no real ownership of, like, we didn't draft him. We weren't the ones who were there. If we decide to make quarterback change midweek in the middle of a contract year, fine. But isn't it funny? Dak Prescott, three-year college starter. He had a great rookie year. That's who he was.

Like, I said this with Baker. Darnold comes into the NFL. I think he's got a lot of ceiling. Tom Brady didn't start many games. Kurt Warner didn't, Kyler Murray. I watched Baker this year. I think he's closer to his ceiling than we think. I think this is what he is.

I don't think there's any question there. Okay, because I think a lot of people did question that. Oh, I don't, no. I mean, like you and I, we sat in, we talked to different people in the NFL, and they all said, Donald, who had far less experience and had some flaws in what he did, but the ceiling was way higher, right? And so that's what you had to judge was, do you take Baker, who, I think intellectually, wowed people at the whiteboard. Had great college coaching.

He had great college coaching, both at tech and at Oklahoma, and had just a wealth of experience in what he had seen. Plus, like, look, he's a football guy. He's kind of football savant. Whereas Donald, he wasn't really a seven-on-seven guy. He wasn't, yeah, he did the Elite 11, but he was also a basketball player. And he didn't play a ton in college. Kyler Murray, I watched him this weekend, Doug.

I'm like, Kyler Murray's getting better week to week. Well, he also wasn't sacked this week, which, you know, he was on pace for a record of sacks. Part of it is he played Atlanta, which we let like, haven't been discussed, when did Atlanta get terrible? I know. They're terrible. I know. They're terrible. Matt Ryan, four touchdowns, no reception. They don't win. Yeah. Because their defense is atrocious. But anyway, to answer your question, like that's the magic of trying to draft is, do I draft a guy who's a ready-made guy,

who I can plug and play, and I know what I have, or do I have a guy who has upside, but I have to develop them along the way? But I still think the, uh, You have to have that rabbi in the room that drafted you, that believed in you, that's willing to stand on the table when you're having a bad year or a bad day or whatever. And look, it's very early, but Kyler Murray obviously has that. Marcus Marriota lost that well before the season ever begins. Let's go to Jason Garrett. Jerry says, you know, he would be very sought after.

Well, I mean, he and Mike McCarthy, if they were on the market, have won multiple divisions. So that's true, isn't it? Yeah, but that's not the reason to stay with somebody, right? Like, you don't stay in a relationship because other guys think she's hot, right? Like, that's, like, well, she's, she's crazy and your relationship is toxic and, and you guys fight. And, you know, and you're like, yeah, but if I dump her, then other guys are going to, like, that's not the reason to stay. Or she dumps you. Right.

The reason to stay in a relationship is because it's a good relationship. You bring out the best in one another. Right. And I think that's the big question here. I will caution people. I told you they weren't as good as they played the first three weeks because they played the dregs of the league. Remember, like Jerry's like, man, I was a lot happier in the first three weeks football. Like, yeah, if you could schedule the Redskins, the Giants, and the Dolphins,

every week, everyone would sign up for that. You'd go undefeated because they stink. Yeah. But they're not as bad as they played recently. Not only they did not have Lyle Collins, they didn't have Tyron Smith. Tyron Smith is the best player on that team. And I say that, knowing that they have other elite talented players, but the difference in this, I could make the argument, whether it's Alvin Kamara or I think Christian McKellman. Capri's the best back in the league. Like, Zekelly, it's really good. Yeah.

But between what New York's got working with Sequin and the other two backs, he's in the conversation the best. Tyrant Smith is the best left tackle in football. End of story. And when he's out, the drop off is massive. And then you didn't have Amari Cooper after the first quarter. And we saw what this offense look like without Amari Cooper. And that's because Dak is exactly who we thought he was.

Yeah. He has to have everything right. And if he does, his leadership, his intangibles come out. and you don't have to count on his tangibles. He's just not a guy who can lead a team, who can carry a team when things break down. That's not who he is. And that's why you have to be cautious at the level of financial investment you make in the future. And I think that Tony Romo was a great deodorant for Jason Garrett,

or for the team. When they had bad offensive lines or bad defense, he made them and kept them competitive. You know what Adam Gase said this week, he asked, somebody asked Adam Gase about Sam Darnold, who won the play. of the week in the NFL, and he said he's the great eraser. Dax not an eraser. Like if the play's not set up for Dack, it doesn't work. And Gays said, listen, he didn't do a lot of stuff right.

Sam kind of gets you out of it. By the way, that's what Aaron Rodg... Clay Hilton got a contract extension because of Sam Donald. The only reason he's employed is USC's head coach is because Sam Donald saved them, took them and won them a rose. Here's a rose pole. He left the program collapsed. He left the Jets.

The team collapsed. Let's talk about the Rams. And I know people think we live in Los Angeles. we love Los Angeles. L.A. and New York are just so much bigger, and there's more ramifications, and there's more entertainment. We have two of everything, two soccer, two baseball, two NBA, two NFL, New York similarly.

I think a lot of this Jalen Ramsey is, A, we needed a cornerback because Peters had either quit on the team or wasn't listening until Eve got hurt. So I get the football move. But some of this is like, it's L.A., you got Kauai. I got LeBron. Don't you have to matter a little? No.

I don't, I don't, I think that was the under Rams initial idea when they first moved here. I mean, last year they did, didn't they? No, I think that this is the way to save the season, right? Their offensive line is a mess. They got an offensive lineman yesterday. Linebacking corps hasn't been good, got a linebacker yesterday. And they upgraded a cornerback. I mean, that's really what it is.

I mean, I can't believe Marcus Peter's head is still on his neck after that hit he took. Oh, my God. On the pick six against Tampa. Oh, Lord. But he hasn't been good, right? he's not considered a great locker room guy. And on the football field, he takes way too many chances. Huge.

And you upgraded with Jalen Ramsey. The problem with Jalen Ramsey is he's one of those guys that he's a frontrunner. When things are going good, he's great. He's the best quarterback in football. When things are going bad, like they were last year and Blake Bortles is their quarterback, he will lead to a revolt for the quarterback. What happens if Jared Goff continues to struggle, is he still all in on the Rams? Do you feel their seasons over?

No, but I think this. is kind of this is throwing everything at it. And look, it's a smart move because they just don't have kind of the draft equity. Now obviously throwing away two first-round draft picks. But I think they're in win now mode. They have their quarterback. They have their running back. These moves don't make Todd Gurley healthy.

They don't make Jared Goff better under pressure. They don't solve some of the issues with the offensive line completely. But they do help that. They do help their defensive backfield, help their lineback and core. This was a cognizant move to save the Rams season. and we'll just see how it plays out. The Niners have better talent. They're a better football team.

They have all these first round guys we were talking about yesterday. They're like six, five first round guys on the defensive line. Right. But they tanked for a couple of years to load up to be at this point. And they are. And then they put a bunch of money in a quarterback, and it set them back in terms of their progress for a year. But now he's coming into his own.

The Seahawks just find a way because Russell Wilson's playing like the best player in football. And see the Rams, you're sitting out there going like, all right, we still have a shot. We still have something. Like, look around the league. Nobody in the NFC East is doing anything. The NFC North is the best division, but they're beaten up. They're cannibalizing each other outside of the Packers, right? The NFC South, you know, you got two, one and a half good teams.

We can still make the playoffs. This is our best answer to how. I actually think it makes sense considering the posse of playoff teams in the NFC. 51 games decided by a touchdown or less, most ever week six in NFL. history. So the sense is there's a lot of parity. But I do with Super Bowl bubbles throughout the year. And it always comes down to eight teams. Here are the teams, I think. There may be parity on Sunday, but not Super Bowl Sunday. Dallas,

give me three more weeks to watch. These are the eight teams, I think, are in it. New England, KC, Houston, Green Bay, Seattle, Philly, San Francisco Saints. Where am I right? Where am I wrong? Why are the Eagles on that list? I know. I like it. What are the Eagles done? Because the Eagles went to, and they dominated them on line of scrimmage in Lambo. I thought it was really impressive. They're getting healthier.

Packers had two red zone opportunities in the fourth quarter. All right. I mean, like, look, I actually think Mike Zimmer was holding the Minnesota Vikings back. Like, neither of us believe in Kurt Cousins. You would know people inside the Vikings, I do that when the bright lights are on, the primetime games, he gets super

tight. But the last two weeks, last two weeks, they've looked like a Super Bowl contender. So you'd put Minnesota in the bubble? If you're going to put the Eagles out there, then I think you put Minnesota out there. And I know full well, I'm with you on the cousins issue, but the Eagles have a similar, if not worse issue on the back end of their defense. They just do.

And they had so many drops during the season. I would put the Vikings in there. But I think you kind of nailed the idea that I would have put the Patriots in the middle of that because they're the most likely. Kansas City obviously has issues with Mahomes not being healthy, not having your left tackle. and the defense can't stop the run because, as Michael Lombardi says, what is the best, the defense for Kansas City is to not play defense, like keep him off the field. And that's what people are doing. I think it's the Patriots and the Packers.

And then everybody else is on the outside of that bubble trying to get in. All right. Doug Gottlieb, all ball iTunes is his podcast. The Doug Gottlieb show weekdays three to six on Fox Sports Radio. Marcus Peters to the Ravens, just quickly. It works for like nine games, right? Like, yeah, yeah, a temporary fix. But you also remember, you have a new GM with Baltimore Ravens,

and this is not an Ozzie Newsom no longer in that building. So they're trying to kind of fix things and tinker with things. I think their issue is going to be as they get into division, play the Pittsburgh Steelers. And I know the Steelers, you lost to us. So maybe your defensive line isn't as nasty as it was Sunday. But as people begin to figure out Lamar Jackson and make him make those short intermediate throws,

Can their defense carry them even though they're playing less possessions on the football field? I think Marcus Peters. It didn't cost you anything. And I like Marcus Peters for nine games. And then for some, like Andy Reid players coach. He's a rebound guy. He's, you know, he's fine for four nine games. All right, Doug Gottlie, good seeing you, bud.

Coming up next, finally, somebody in Cleveland said it about Baker Mayfield. We'll tell you what that is next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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, 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 SportsClice 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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 walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mama wants you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Cliverts show on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, Fam, Miss 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 Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running 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 Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome in. Good to have you in. Untucket.com. Don't be the gli with a long, sloppy-looking untucked shirt.

Go to Untucket.com. Code is heard 20% off. Untucket.com also have a bunch of retail locations. Top of the hour, Joel Clatt and I are going to argue. I think if you're Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, you've already got Lincoln Riley. He's your next coach. The question is this year or two years from now.

And I think college coaches like Lincoln Riley, the burnout, the transfer portal, the constant recruiting, which has gotten worse. I think Lincoln Riley will take the cowboy job, maybe not this year, but in two years. And I don't think Jerry wants anybody else to get Lincoln Riley in the NFC. And so Dallas doesn't make the playoffs. He's going to make a $10 million a year offer minimum to Lincoln Riley

in a state with no state income tax and the Cowboys and that O line. Let me go to this go. Finally, somebody said it, is that we do this blame game all the time. Is that in 2019, if you look at all the scumpt, changes and rule changes in the NFL. There's really no excuse to throw interceptions. I mean, Aaron

Rogers has two all year and those are on deflections. Russell Wilson has none this year. Patrick Mahomes, who throws it constantly, has one. There's really no excuses. The rule changes now. It really is, you should be completing 65 to 66% of your throws

if you have any protection on the offensive line. This is where Baker Mayfield's a problem. I'm not saying he has a great offensive line, but Sunday was a real eye-opener because he had nothing but time against Seattle to throw. They do not have a pass rush. They let Michael Bennett go. They let Frank Clark go. Seattle does a lot of things right. They do not have much of a pass rush. Russell Wilson was under far more duress than Baker-Mayfield was. Look at this throw. That's a terrible throw. That's a bad decision. This throw,

you know, again, that's just a bad decision throwing into people. Sunday was an eye-opener. He's got the most interceptions in the NFL right now is pass a ratings 30th, completion percentage 30th, TD percentage at 30th. It's not all on the offensive line. Russell Wilson's old line is not great. So Freddie Kitchens finally yesterday put it back at least to some degree on Baker. Here it goes. To simply answer your question, I want Baker to continue to work to make better decisions. We need to make sure Baker's continuing to get better with his eyes, his reads, his throws. around him and me personally I have to continue to do a better job

and continue to put him in a better situation so he comes and says he's got to make better decisions this was my knock on Baker Mayfield Johnny Mansell and James Winston out of college I do not believe people that make bad decisions at 18 make great ones

at 22 I think that most people who are mature at 12 or mature at 18 mature at 26 now some of us grow up and you know I would hope to think in my 50s, I'm smarter than I was in my 20. But I wasn't a big risk taker at 20. I'm not a big risk taker at 50.

I wasn't irresponsible at 20. I'm not irresponsible at 50. I saved my money at 20. I've made, you know, I've adjusted, but I think I'm largely kind of the same guy. Now I'm a father. Didn't used to be a father. Now I'm married didn't used to be in my 20s married. But I have kind of the same core values, same core judgment, same core instincts.

You know, I say I work hard. I put my money away. I go to bed early. Like most of my life has not changed. So I don't believe when you have a decision at 18 years old to listen to the police officer or run from cops, I don't think you're going to go from Matt to a brilliant decision maker. I don't think James Winston's college nonsense. You go from that to being a great decision maker. Baker and James are interception machines in an era.

You shouldn't have a ton of interceptions. You just should. And I'm not saying James's O' line is great. I'm not saying Baker's O' line's great. But Baker's got real weapons. He's got a real running game. And those decisions Sunday were lousy decisions, just like throwing at opponents and taunting opponents and handshake stuff in college and the cop video in college. Let's just be honest about it.

Baker throws an interception 5.6% of the time. Do you know what Kyler Murray throws an interception? 1.7% of the time and his offensive line is worse. And he's got a rookie head coach and his roster's worse. So I don't want to hear about, well, he hasn't started many games. Kyler Murray is getting a ball intercepted less than 2% of the time. Patrick Mahomes has a bad offensive line in injuries. 0% of the time.

Russell Wilson, he's been in the league eight years, 0% of the time. So let's just put some of this on Baker. He was cocky and made dumb decisions in college. That police video, you're like, everybody did that in college. Yes, except the smart kids who you'd want to pay $150 million to be a franchise quarterback. 99% of you are never going to run a company. So if you want to run from cops in college, be my guest. But I'm praying that the guy that's running IBM or Google or Facebook didn't do that.

So franchise quarterback is not receiver, cornerback, you know, left guard. It's quarterback. Maturity matters, judgment matters, and it's always been my issue on Baker. James Winston, I just don't. They, little, you know, snap decisions. One of the great traits of quarterback is decision making. I don't like a lot of Baker's decision. decisions. I didn't like him in college. I don't like him now. Talent's there. That's not the

question. Joel Klatz's going to yell at me next. It's the herd. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Hurd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments

that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, 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 or 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 hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now.

What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Brett. My mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts 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, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends,

stop by like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that I said, 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.

This is The Herd, wherever you may be in, however you may be listening, our Two, we're live in LA, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. We have a very, very good second hour. Joel Clatt in five minutes. We're going to disagree on everything today because I already see what he wants to talk about and he's wrong on everything. I've got to be honest, he is wrong on everything today. So it's going to be cats and dogs living together here in about five minutes.

And Joy Taylor, it's uncomfortable for Joy because she's got to sit here and watch me be right and we have to hammer on the guests, but sometimes that's what you've got to do. I think it's very exciting that you guys are back to, you know, it's very, it's actually way more, it's more uncomfortable when you guys disagree with each other because you're just kind of staring at each other like in anger. But like, yeah, you're right. I'm not even mad at him today. I just feel sad for him. He's so wrong. So give me two minutes on this.

First of all, New England did something. We live in a time where it's very player empowerment, pro player. And I'm not, I got, I got no problems with that. You know, college football, college basketball, guys transferring all the time. I think some of it I'm good with. I don't think you should be able to transfer as a college kid nine times. But I have no problem. You have an opportunity.

And players being empowered because I go to games to watch players, not coaches, GMs and executives and scouts. But what I love about there's a saying in Game of Thrones, bend the knee. What I love about the Patriots, they're always willing to roll the dice on guys, but they're never, ever willing to sacrifice their culture. And so Michael Bennett this week, who's talented, but Seattle's like, we're done with you.

you. He's noisy. He can be political. He got into a fight with a coach. And New England's like, you're suspended. New England will roll the dice in everybody. A, B. Albert Hainsworth, Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, Ocho Cinco. And by the way, most don't work. Cory Dillan was a big success. Rennie was

mostly a success. Ocho whiff, A.B. Whiff. Haynesworth, quadruple Whiff. Bennett hasn't done anything. Frankly, they're very deep at his position. Now, they've got a bunch of pass rushers, so they don't need him a ton. And they chase Winovich from Michigan. They drafted. He's now getting to be a pretty good player.

But what I like about New England, if I run a business, this is how I do it. I'm always willing to bring in super talented people all the time. I'll roll the dice. But I'm not sacrificing my culture for you. And New England's like, listen, you've got to be more committed. You've got to sacrifice more. We're not going to pay as much. We have very strict rules.

And nobody gets babyed even Tom Brady. I mean, we saw the video yesterday with Joy and I that gave me a game ball. They don't baby Brady. It's uncomfortable. And so New England runs a business like I would run a business. I would absolutely roll the dice on what are people that have a little baggage. You got to take chances. Don't be stuffy.

New England takes chances every year. But they never bend a knee. They never sacrifice their culture. You can't handle it. You can't sacrifice. Boom, you're out. And I love the way they do business. I really do.

I think you have to do that with any business. You have to roll the dice. You can't just sit there and be like, because, by the way, New England rolls the dice on the draft. They've whiffed on a lot of draft picks. They've whipped on some free agent signings. But they're businesses that get big, you got to take risks. Even when you're at the top, because all the companies below you are taking huge risks.

The Rams are taking risks. The Eagles are taking risk. The Chiefs are taking risk. You can't sit up there on your perch and not roll the dice. New England does, but as the same in Game and Thrones, they don't bend the knee. All right. So let's bring on the voice of college football at this network. Joel Clatt is going to be awfully uncomfortable for Joel.

Good to seeing you. What's up, dude? Okay. So let me start with this. Joy, I agree with you, by the way. It's more uncomfortable when we agree. It most certainly is, yes. So now that that's out of the way.

So let me start with this. All right. Where are you wrong today? Let's go. Okay. College football, there's been a couple of changes, and I think it's made life miserable for college coaches. Number one.

In recruiting? Now there is no February recruiting day. They added a second one. I've had two coaches tell me, like, dude, you don't get a summer. You don't get a time off now. That's true. It used to be the college lifestyle was way better than the end. NFL lifestyle. That's true. But you did it. You could control your players. The second thing is

the transfer portal. Lincoln Riley is going to have his fourth quarterback in four years. If you don't take care of dad and the quarterback doesn't feel like he's the man, they just leave. This has made the college football, this is why, by the way, Michigan's basketball coach is like, I'm going to try the NBA. I think the college jobs, unless you have ultimate power like a Sabin, it can be, it's not as much fun as it was. And Jerry Jones has a history of going into the college ranks. It's the only way he's won Super Bowls. I think he knows he's going to hire Lincoln Riley. He's certainly not going to let anybody else in the NFC have Lincoln Riley. Jerry once said on the air, the biggest mistakes I've made has gone conservative. When I go for it, I never feel like

All right, but this is just from Jerry's point of view. Well, Jason Garrett, if they don't make the playoffs, he's out. He's going to offer Lincoln Riley 15 million a year. And he might. Yeah. I mean, you never know. Lincoln will have a choice to make. I think that there is a case to be made of why you would stay in college, even with all the things. And listen, you're not wrong. The recruiting calendar is much more tedious on the head coach now. And because of that calendar, it's actually a lot harder to take care of your current players, which make them disgruntled, which leads to the transfer portal.

So they actually are one and the same, right? They're all tied together. So yes, that's correct. However, some guys are just better in college than they are. the NFL. And I would suggest that the exception to the rule is what Jerry has done with college coaches. And I don't really count Barry Switzer, because

he came into a team that was likely going to win the Super Bowl anyways. Pete Carroll. But Pete and Jimmy. And Jim Harbon Tom Coughlin. They were better NFL coaches. Jim didn't win a Super Bowl. Well, but he got to one. That's pretty darn good. He's better at San Francisco. He has been at Michigan. I don't know about that. I mean, he's improved by like four games a year in terms of a winning

margin over the six or seven previous seasons to when he was there. I would just say this, that there are a lot more guys that you're not mentioning. Lou Holtz was the Jets head coach in the 70s. That didn't work out. Butch Davis didn't work out. Nick Saban didn't work out. Steve Spurrier didn't work out. Chip Kelly didn't work out. Mike Riley didn't work out. Dennis Erickson didn't work out. I mean, so, I mean, you bring up a couple. Pete had an NFL background before he went to Seattle. All right. He was more of an NFL coach at USC than he was a college coach now in Seattle. I think you would agree with that, right? That's a fair point.

Yeah. Okay. So Jimmy Johnson is really the only one. Well, Tom Coughlin had great success in the NFL. Okay. I mean, I'll give you Tom Coughlin. I think that that was in an era before what it is now. Don't you think it's easier for a college coach to go to the pros now?

I don't know. I don't know. And I think that there's a lot of other things too. Okay, so his contract, he just signed an extension. It's about $32.5 million dollars right now. It goes through 2023. If he left right now, it'd be $4.6 million dollars a buyout. That's a lot.

Now, the contract states actually that it's 22 and a half percent of whatever is remaining on his contract. There is a good chance that he gets another extension at the end of this year. If that goes north of 50, which it probably will in terms of total contract value, that means that the 22 and a half percent that's already the precedent for him as his buyout, he'd be in the north of $21 million. You know, I mean, like Dallas Cowboy Head Coach. I understand that.

But think about it now. He's got total control of Oklahoma. He's got the ability to raise his family. He's got two young daughters and his wife and Norman. I think that that plays a huge. That's why David Shaw hasn't left Stanford. They don't have nice houses in Dallas? He can get a nice house in Dallas.

But you've also got this point. And the reason I bring up the $21 million is because he's likely going to continue to get extensions to the point where he's going to make somewhere in the $100 million range over 10 years. And the big 12. Or make same money in the NFL? NFL. He's also not accomplished everything that he wants to accomplish at Oklahoma. Got a transfer portal in the NFL? Got to have to recruit in the NFL and deal with goofy boosters and NCAA? I tell you what. You go beat Chip Kelly and it doesn't work out, which the

percentages suggest Lincoln, and I'm going to talk to you and get this bonehead out of you. I'm going to talk to you right now. Lincoln, let's say it doesn't work out. Okay, you go and you like roll the dice and it doesn't work out. What job are you going to go back and get? He had $100 million. Who cares? being a sailboat. Who cares? You know, because it's so easy to bring UCLA back, as we're proving right now. What job are you going to go get? You're in a blue blood job right now. You're in a blue blood job right now. You don't have to leave anyway.

Nick Saban is the model. Bob Stoops was the model. You can stay there. You can make more money than God. And you're just fine. Okay, now let's get it. Camera guys. Put it on me and let me talk to Lincoln. Oh, like the other three hours. Yeah, you want to stay at a days in in El Paso another 38 times in your life? You want to go to Rich Carl with Jerry Jones. have martinis on Saturday night. Hey, Lincoln.

What sounds better, Lincoln, Riley? Hey, swing the camera over here. No, now you're in the draft room. Now you're in the draft room. And now all of a sudden you're like, hey, I really like this player. Now you've got to deal with Stephen and Jerry and all these Yahoo's are saying, no, we don't want that guy. You're like, I lost all my autonomy.

Now I'm no longer in control of my own program. Good luck with that. All right, camera over here. I'm the president of Oklahoma. Academics are so important. important. This player, we're not going to let him in because my point- swing it back, swing it back, swing it back. I'm the president of Oklahoma now, and guess what I just gave you? Another $32.5 million in extension. By the way,

you've got 35 hours of private plane usage. You can play at any three, any one of our three golf clubs whenever you want. So I'll take care of you, Lincoln. And guess what I'm not going to do? I'm not going to ask you to draft a player that you don't want to draft. Yeah, whatever. All right, let's move to this. Okay. Joy, it feels good when I beat him like that. I feel like I should have jumped in there like, swing it over here. Yeah, Joy, what was your, Joy, I would like your take. Do whatever's best for you. Yeah. Dallas four seasons live next to Jerry, Cowboy Coach. All right. So here's the other thing. I'm hearing all this. Caitlin and his wife. Caitlin, keep him in Norman. Here's what's funny. There's only one. There's only one team that can beat Alabama this year. LSU. Why? Why only one? LSU gives up too many cheap touchdowns. Georgia can't throw it over the top. You think Alabama doesn't give up cheap? touchdowns this year? They've got all those true freshmen starting on defense. I think that

they're likely to get into a shootout. This is not Alabama of a couple of years ago. This is a team that's having to win one way. They don't run it like they used to. They don't play defense like they used to, namely because of injuries and a lot of young players playing, but they're leaning on Tua. This is more Oklahoma of last year than it is Alabama of last year. Do you know Fox Bet says if LSU and Bama played, Bama's favored by almost 11 points? Well, Fox bet is new. They're working through their kinks. I just don't think that that's a very good line whatsoever. I think LSU has a great chance in that game.

LSU is in trouble against Florida at home. Yeah, and Florida is a pretty good football team. Pretty good. Not Alabama. They're pretty good. Alabama is great. I still think they're going to win the SEC, but to think that they're just going to waltz through like they have in the last couple of years,

I think is trouble. Okay, so you watch this. So Clat has his top ten, and this cracks me up. Why does this crack you up? Okay, so just put it up. One, two, three, four, five. You have Clemson 7th. Folks, let me tell you what Clemson is.

You know what Clemson is? Florida State of 14? No. They're Pete Carroll's USC Trojans. Why is that? Because Clemson wins last year. Clemson's in a bad conference. When Pete was in the Pac-12, it was garbage.

Yeah, it wasn't good. Okay, the ACC now is garbage. Miami's garbage. Florida State's garbage. Virginia Tech's not what it was with the great coach. Only one ranked team. That's Clemson. By the way, American has more ranked teams.

So Clemson now with Trevor. Lawrence and Dabo in a bad conference. They are bored out of their mind. Maybe. Pete's teams in the PAC 12 won a title. They came out the following year. They literally, they couldn't get up for anybody in the conference. Clemson is just sitting back here, waiting for Alabama, and they're going to crush

them again. Listen, it might be, and they might win a national championship, and they might go 15 and they're bored out of their mind. Lord knows they're not going to get tested in the ACC. I think that you would be, you know. the championship game be against today? Maybe, oh gosh. I mean, every team in the coastal has two losses, one of them in the ACC. So it's a total crapshoot. By the way, whoever wins it, it's likely to be the seventh different winner in the last seven years on that side. I mean,

I think Clemson's, I think we're falling for this is that, yeah, but hold on, but hold on. Have they been impressive at all? Well, again, they're sleepwalking through this schedule. So do you want me to rate them higher just because of your theory? Or do you, want me to rate teams based on what I've seen on the field. Well, no, but I think everything has to be considered years ago. Florida won a national basketball title. Why should I consider their national championship from a year ago? Why not just evaluate teams for what they are in this season?

What time out? Don't we have a preseason poll? It's totally based on last year. Why would I care about a preseason poll whatsoever? We've already seen that those have proven to be totally wrong. Wisconsin and Penn State weren't thought of to be very much at all. And now here they are clearly in the top 10 right now. I think Clemson's a really good football team.

They have not played to their potential. you put any other emblem out there outside of Clemson or Alabama, and you said, here's this team, and they have come out and they've played far below expectations and have just a one-point win over a middling team with a first-year head coach. Let's say it's Ohio State. Let's say Ohio State this year would have come out, played below expectations, and had a one-point win against Indiana. You'd be crushing them. And rightly so. And rightly so. So Clemson comes out and plays below expectations. They might go undefeated. They're probably going to go to the playoff, because of their conference.

But to put them or evaluate them outside of what they have actually done, I think is troublesome. By the way, ask Nick Sabin today who he's afraid of. He doesn't want to face Lincoln Riley and he doesn't want to face Trevor Lawrence. Maybe. Maybe. But this is what's so great about this season is that it's not just two teams that are clearly better than everybody else.

I think that we've got seven teams that are clearly national championship contenders, in particular after we saw OU's defense last week, actually stand up and play great defense against Texas. You have Oklahoma this week. West Virginia is at Oklahoma. By the way, Oklahoma may very well come down. After these massive rivalry games, it's very common. Oklahoma may come back down a little bit.

Maybe. Okay, so let's go to this thing. So I have, can I throw another one of my brilliant theories out there? I mean, you've been wrong a couple of times today, so keep going. Keep on trucking. Okay. So Joel Clat, for those on radio, that can't see him if you're wondering who's consistently wrong.

So I believe. You're wondering the only person out here giving facts and not theories, go ahead. Okay, well, whatever. So here's the thing, is that we tend to assume that if you go from college to pro, you're just starting to become a good football player. Player side, right, right, right. But a lot of times, the coaching you get at college is better than the pro. And sometimes if you're a three or four year starter, the truth is you were more mature.

You figured the playback book out early in college. You get well coached. You get all these college starts in. But at the time you get to the NFL, this is. is the ceiling. Like Alabama, a lot of times, Saban squeezes every ounce of juice out of the orange. And by the time you get an Alabama player in the NFL, you're like, what he was in college is what he is. So what's the theory is this? Marcus Marriota got three-year starter in college, great college offensive coaching. Great player. Never got better after his rookie year in the NFL.

Never got better. He entered as a ceiling. I'll give you an example. So are you saying this as a rule now? You just think that players are just specifically Marcus? Kyler Murray won your college football. I've watched him improve in three games. No, no, no, no. You can't, this is very revisionist history right now. No, you are, you're more wrong on this than anything so far today. All you have to do is go back to the last nine quarterbacks that have won a Super Bowl.

And I've given you this stat before, and I'm not surprised it went in one year and out the other. Nine Super Bowl winning quarterbacks since Brad Johnson. Okay. Yeah. And on average, when you look at their college career, they've started 34 games in college, attempted 1,200 passes, completed 730 of them, have 71 touchdowns with about 23 wins. The rule is if you're going to get a quarterback that's going to go into the NFL and actually be a Super Bowl winning quarterback, you want the experience.

In fact, the fewest number of starts in college for a quarterback that's one of Super Bowl is Aaron Rogers with 22, and I believe that's not even counting his junior college starts. So he's gotten more reps than even those statistics suggest. Brady is on the low end of that because he shared time. at Michigan as a starting quarterback. I completely disagree. You want as much time as you possibly can. That's why Daniel Jones is having a lot of success.

This is why Haskins is having to sit. It's because he only played for one year. I think that that's a total misconception. The reason Marcus Marietta has not gotten better is because he's had a different offense every year. Mike Shanahan used to say, and I think he's absolutely right, and he got this from Bill Walsh. A quarterback in the National Football League only reaches full potential

if he's in an offense for the same offense in three separate seasons. You're only using that offense to its fullest capability once you get into that third year. Mike Shanahan used to say that all the time. And I firmly believe that. Why is Marcus Marriota not developed? Because he's had a revolving door of offensive coordinators. What about Andy Dalton? That guy just came into the league.

You'd seen what he was. He entered the league in the ceiling. So you're going to base your entire theory off Andy. Andy Dalton and Baker Mayfield, who's still in his, by the way, Baker has only started a hair over 16 games. It's like he's still a first year player at this point. He'll continue to get better. I gave you the nine Super Bowl winning quarterbacks.

I speak from rings on the fingers. Well, that's how you see it. That's how everyone sees it. Again, do you want those numbers again? 34 career starts on average, Colin. 1,200 attempts, 730 completion, 71 touchdowns, and 23 wins, with a completion percentage right around 63%. Because I watch Sam Darnold, and I watch Kyler Murray, and I'm like, these kids are getting better every week.

I watch Baker and I'm like four years of college. This is what he is, a turnover machine. Andy Dalton, Marcus Marriota, Baker Mayfield, all these four years. Do you know how many turnovers Baker had in college? Yeah, nobody throws an interception at Oklahoma because Lincoln Riley is Elon Musk. He's a genius. All these Oklahoma quarterbacks, Jalen Hertz got bench. Now he's the best player in college football.

I just love that you're basing a theory after Andy Dalton and Marcus Marriota and not the nine quarterbacks who have won Super Bowl since Brad Johnson. All right. Let's see if I have anything else here. I got the Lincoln Riley thing, the starts in college thing. Ed Orgeron, I'm very happy for Ed. I doubted him. He's been a home run.

He's been a home run. And by the way, if you don't know, the biggest move in college football to date was when Ed Ogeron hired Joe Brady to be his passing game coordinator. He was an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints. Yes. He came in, has revamped that passing game of LSU. And that's been the biggest thing that I think that we've gotten in college football. And I never thought Ed Orgeron was a Power 5 juggernaut coach. He was too quirky for me.

But you know what? It's a good fit down there. And LSU, that's exactly. He is a great fit. He is LSU football. We agree. He literally, I don't know if he works anywhere else. But at LSU, Ed Orgeron is LSU football. Well, if he talks at a press conference or at a booster club, they understand him. Everybody else is like, come again? He didn't. He ended his sideline thing this weekend that everybody on Twitter was laughing about. I had to watch it four times. I couldn't understand. He's just got.

Well, he just played really well. I got really. I'm very proud of Joe Barrow. All right, Joel Kla, let's hear it for Joe Klan. He was right a couple times. A couple times. A couple. All right.

I got to take a break. We got PFF.com. We got statute. Won't Believe in coming up next. Why the move? I mostly disagree with it. But for this team this year, I actually like the move.

That's coming up. Nine Super Bowl winners. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

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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? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42.

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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. ever 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

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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Patrick Mahomes keeps doing Patrick Mahomes things for Kansas City. Tomorrow on Thursday night football, he and the Chiefs face Vaughn Miller and the Broncos in this classic AFC West rivalry. It all starts at 7, 30 Eastern, 430 Pacific on Fox NFL Network and streaming on Prime Video. By the way, Denver is two late field goals, expiring clock field goals.

Denver's the best perceived bad team in the league. They should have beaten Chicago. They got hosed on a call. So they had Chicago beat, and Kansas City is still not healthy. So that is a, you're going to have a little bit of a mini crisis here. If the Raiders win this week at Green Bay and Kansas City loses Thursday, we're going to look up and have the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West there in Kansas City beneath them. What?

I mean the NFL's crazy. By the way, got plans this weekend. Be prepared windshield wipers that can handle everything Michelin endurance XT silicone wiper blades, two times longer than other blades. That's how long they last. Get them at Walmart. Joy with News. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Alvin Kamara is dealing with. a high angle issue that will limit him in practice this week. He was questionable heading into Sunday's, last Sunday's game with the same injury and did end up playing, but he only saw the field on 39 of the Saints

66 offensive snaps. The Saints are reportedly being very careful with Kamara this week, but he still hopes he's going to play Sunday against the Bears. Well, I mean, you've won so many straight games. Like, I mean, not that you would think this way,

but kind of playing with house money in New Orleans. It feels. like I would arrest a guy now. Yeah, it feels like get him healthy. You're going to need him long term. Not that you're, you know, every week matters, of course. And, you know, but it's on the road. It's in Chicago.

Atlanta. And they're not thinking this way. Obviously, they're trying to win every single game. But this was a game I kind of felt like if you look, you know, if you play win loss. Also, Saints' defense is great. Bears' defense is great. This is a, this is a seven, I mean, this feels like a 2017 game.

Like, you're not going to. move the ball much anyway. This will actually end up being a really, really fascinating football game to watch. Well, they're at the Bears this week and then they have the Cardinals at home before the buy. Now, I remember Drew Breeze was trying to come back for that game against the Cardinals at home

next week. I think that they should just wait. I mean, it's one more week in the way that Teddy Bridger-Rotter has been playing. There's no rush to get him back. Some other news on the high-angle sprain news like waiver. Giants running back.

Saqueline Barkley was a full participant in practice today, so it's a very good sign that he will return to the field on Sunday. That's according to Ian Rappaport. By the way, so Evan Ingram, is he back? Sterling Shepard's back and the Giants. So that matters, actually. I think that changes the temperature of that offense a little bit. That's good for the Giants.

Who do they play this week? They have a winnable game this week. Cardinals. Yeah, that's a nice game for New York. To ever have to come back to. Yeah, no, Barclay helps. Rookie quarterbacks need good running games. That's a good get for New York.

So Baker's struggled this season, obviously, throwing a league high 11 interceptions in the Browns 2 and 4 starts. He deflected some of the blame for the loss to the Seahawks last weekend by calling the officiating pretty bad. Well, former quarterback Ryan Leif didn't like those comments, and he's warning Baker not to make the same mistakes that he did. I've always been this brash, arrogant kind of guy. That's the way I came back at everybody instead of just walking up in front of the camera and going, oh my God, this was my fault.

I'm going to do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again. and hearing Baker yesterday, even though small blame the officials for some calls, it's problematic for me. But as the quarterback, you want to be able to stand up in front of everybody and take personal accountability.

I'm actually surprised Baker hasn't gotten more pushback for those comments. Because when I first saw that, I was like, ugh. I mean, even if the calls are egregious, like, what's the point? Yeah, here's the other thing. What's, like, in the Tennessee game, if you recall, I defended Baker on, he had no time to throw.

Right. The San Francisco game, I'm like, listen, it's brutal. Baker had two of his interceptions. I mean, he had a lot of time to throw the ball. This was a game in which one quarterback, Russell Wilson, was dealing with duress on every snap, had no mistakes. Now, again, Russell's been in the league longer. But what was problematic is this was a game, Baker, they should have won this game. They absolutely should have won this game.

Listen, generally in the NFL, if a talented quarterback is significantly more comfortable that day, they win. They lost because Baker just made bad throws. And look, I mean, I don't want to compare Ryan Leif and Baker's careers. Obviously, Baker has had, I mean, thus far, a much better career than Ryan. But he's speaking more of the character and leadership attributes that he feels like he struggled with early in his career. Like, don't blame the refs, take full accountability. do it to the point where we're asking you not to take full account. I mean, we talk about Andrew Luck would always take all the blame to the point where it's like, dude, it's literally not your fault.

It's literally not all your fault. You would take all the blame for everything, but that absorbs it and kills the story. Blaming the refs, like even a situation like the lions, like where everyone would fully understand, like those were two really bad calls. It just doesn't help anything. Like take accountability and then that just, it brings not sympathy, but it shows self-relevant. awareness when you do that. Finally, last week, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores said Josh Rosen would be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

Then Ryan Fitzpatrick took the field against the Redskins when Rosen was struggling, but then Flores maintained that Rosen was the starter. However, now he's changed his mind again and announced that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start against the bills this weekend. Once again, this is why I hate tanking. I know it sounds like it's a really great plan. It sounds like there's a whole direction. You've got it all figured out.

but they don't. If you were really tanking, Josh Rosen should finish the season because clearly you're switching to Fitzpatrick because you feel like he gives you a better chance of winning, which is not what you're trying to do. Josh isn't hurt. No, just wasn't playing well. He needed more time to evaluate it. And Goulet gave me this earlier. This is really great information. So when you're talking about tanking and trying to get a top five pick, a top five quarterback pick, this is a list of the quarterbacks that have been drafted top five since 2006.

Half of them are bus. Half. And if you look around the league, now for, so for our radio audience, is Kyla Murray, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Jabisky, Goff, Wence, Winston, Marriota, Bordles. Then you have, you know, RG3, Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez, James Young. Like, you don't know what you're getting.

So you're tanking your organization, setting yourself up for failure on at every position within the community amongst the fans. It's all negative. And you have no guarantee that you're going to even get your guy. And if you look around the league at teams that have their future, like have their franchise quarterback,

a lot of them, as in most of them, are not top five picks. They're not. I mean, Philip Rivers, number four, obviously that was back in 2004. But you have Wence, Jared Goff, and Sam Darnold. Daniel Jones isn't a top five pick. I don't like that list, though, because I look at that list. Jamarcus Russell was a bust. Like, that was a nightmare.

Vince Young was never as good as we thought, but he didn't make the playoffs. But Kyler's not a bus. Baker's not. Sam's not. No, no, no, but about half of them are. No, I don't think that's right. So watch this. Kyler no, Baker, no, Sam no, Mitch, no, Gough, no, Wentz, no. I don't think you can call James Winston a bust.

I wouldn't call James Winston and Marriota a bus. I would not call them a success. I certainly wouldn't have tanked my organization for either one of them. Now, no, now, Bortles, not, but Bortles made an AFC championship. Is he a bust? Again, maybe bust is the wrong word. Yeah. But it's fine.

We won't use the word bust. half of these quarterbacks would not be worth tanking your organizations again. I don't know. I think Kyler is Kyler, sure. Baker. They clearly did. Like, they tanked for Baker.

Sam, Wentz, I would. Luck I would. Cam, I would. I would have had to call it. Matt Stafford, I would. Matt Ryan, I would. Now, I never liked Vince yet. Now, Jamarcus Russell is, it's almost like he's in a different galaxy. Like that was a hundred million. Mark Sanchez. Sam Bradford.

But I don't think Sam Bradford was a bust. Just remove the word bust. Bus is maybe too aggressive. The team that drafted him thinks he's a bus. Yeah, I mean, I would agree with that. But let's just remove the word bus that that's too aggressive for you. You're willing to tank your organization for Sam Bradford. I think at the time I would have.

I do. I am so against tanking. And this should be an example of why you don't know what you're going to get. Russell Wilson, not a top five pick. Dak, Mahomes. No, listen. Foles. One a Super Bowl.

Garoppolo, Lamar Jackson, Daniel Jones. They're not top five picks. I don't think they're tanking just for the number one pick. I think dolphins are tanking for three first round picks. And by the way, the Raiders, I mean, two of their three picks have been really, really good. We think they're really, really good. I don't think they're tanking for the one pick. I think they're tanking for all their picks.

That's my takeaway is that the one pick's great because two is out there. But if they ended up with the number two pick and got Justin Herbert, I think they'd be very, very happy. Wouldn't they? Wouldn't Miami be happy with that kid? I would be. I think you may be better than doing it. I think if you're tanking, you are doing that to completely reset your organization. So you better hope you get a haul of great talents that's going to turn your franchise around.

And since they don't know who they're going to finish out this season with a quarterback, it doesn't feel like they have a lot of direction. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line. By the way, I haven't had a real strong comment today on Marcus Peters went to the Ravens. I think it's a good move.

he's not a guy I would sign. He's a free agent after the year. I'd never sign him. Andy Reed and Sean McVeigh are two of the top players, coaches in the NFL, and they got rid of him. Marcus Peters, though, contract year, nine, ten games? Absolutely. First of all, Baltimore's in first place. They have a good culture.

The weakness of that team, you're going to be battling Cleveland down the stretch or Pittsburgh, and they both have really good wide receivers. Don't worry about Cincinnati, but you got Juju Smith, James Washington in Pittsburgh. You got Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry and Callaway at Cleveland. And I think Baltimore is the best of all those teams in that division. But you don't want to go into the later part of your year with a massive hole. And Baltimore's got a massive hole at corner. And Marcus Peters, to me, for nine games, I like the pick.

Now, again, Chris Peterson at Washington. He was a best player on the team said, get out. Andy Reed, needing corners said, no thanks. the Rams, player-friendly Rams, we're out. Peters is a date, not a Mary, but I think for nine games, it works. They gave up nothing for him. He's an elite player. If you'd watch the Rams for the last three or four weeks, something happened in that relationship.

Like, he just started taking massive risks, getting burnt badly by inferior wide receivers. But I actually like, if you look at Baltimore coming up, they face Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Deshawn Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo, and I think they looked at that schedule and thought, we got a lot of offenses that can throw the ball down the field. We cannot have the worst cornerbacks in the NFL. Because right now, Philadelphia and Baltimore have a lot of talent, but man, you can attack them on the perimeter and make a lot of money. So I like what Baltimore did here.

Didn't give up much. And for nine or ten games, it's a date, not a merry. I'm not giving them a long-term deal. Short-term, I would. Coming up, why Russell Wilson, not Patrick Mahomes, is currently the best quarterback in the NFL. PFF, we'll give you details, data, stats. None of it can be argued.

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They grade every play, every player on every play. So it gets through all the nonsense and all the opinions. Let's start with this. I thought Aaron looked great, even though his numbers maybe weren't great, against Detroit. What did the grading system say at PFF, Steve? Yeah, the grading system said Aaron Rogers, by far his best game on Monday night. He had that seam pass up to Aaron Jones that was dropped, threw another one into Jimmy Graham's hands in the end zone. He was fantastic.

The interception he threw, it was a little bit off. But I think throw-for-throw Aaron Rogers, definitely his best game, even though it didn't show up. Statistically, five big-time throws. Those are our highest-graded throws. So there was a little bit of vintage Rogers on Monday night, despite just an OK stat line. So this is important because this is the stuff coaches look at and GMs look at. Sometimes you can have a pick, but you grade very high. And let's go to Russell Wilson, who doesn't have a pick.

How are his grades right now compared to the elite quarterbacks, Russell Wilson? Yeah, one of my favorite things to do at PFF is to tell you when the stats aren't real. Like, this guy's got great stats, but the film's telling you something else. With Wilson, it matches up. 120 whatever passer rating is legit. 14 touchdowns, no interceptions. That's legit, too. He only has two turnover-worthy plays this year.

Both of them are fumbles. So he hasn't put the ball in harm's way as a passer. he's been incredibly accurate and then going back to that good old big time throw statistic he's got the most in the NFL so he's making special throws down the field taking care of the ball Russell Wilson's been the best quarterback in the NFL the stats show it and so do the grades now Deshawn Watson I said this last week I love that they played each other Watson and Holmes because my takeaway is Deshawn Watson I don't know if there is a gap between him and Patrick Mahomes and now that Watson has a left side of the offensive line and a semblance of a running game Steve

now he's got similar weapons to Mahomes where he's got a little bit of time to throw. So if you, now you guys consider everything, protection big time throws. Mahomes and Watson, where do they grade right now today? So the grades are really close right now. 76.9 for Watson, 76.1 for Mahomes. The one thing we don't necessarily account for, though, is playing through injury. We just say, hey, look, here's how well Mahomes has played. And then we go add the context.

He's playing on that bad ankle. So I do think that has hurt Mahomes. He only had eight passes outside the pocket on Sunday. You know, he's usually up 13, 14 or 15 of those. He's lost a little bit of that outside the pocket magic. I do love the way Watson's played, though, the last couple weeks. I think a lot of the sacks early in the year were on him. The offensive line has been much improved.

But the last two weeks, he's gotten the ball out of his hands a lot quicker, not taking the sacks, and he still has those special plays down the field. So love Mahomes and Watson right now. I think Mahomes ultimately is a little bit better, but he's just playing banged up right now. But I also like the fact that the grades are really, really, really close. close. That was a fun game on Sunday between those two. Now, New England may lead the NFL in scoring, but that is kind of counterintuitive to what my eyes tell me. Offensive line issues. So when you look at New England's offense,

do we have a little deception here where the opponents are bad, so the scoring's up, but does it grade that well as an offense? Yeah, I mean, a lot of their scoring is coming from defense in special teams as well. The offense has been put into some pretty favorable situations. I do think they are a tick below where they've been in the past. I thought the first three weeks, they looked really, really good. You got the Steelers, the dolphins, the jets, they looked great. They hit a wall

against Buffalo, who's an excellent defense. They could not move the ball at all. And even against the Giants last week, they struggled through the first few quarters. I think Tom Brady's playing a little bit worse than he has in recent years. The O-line that you mentioned, having a guy like Marshall Newhouse at left tackle hasn't been great. So O-line issues and also receiver issues.

They've gone from, hey, look, they might have Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman to now you've got a banged up Josh Gordon. Edelman's still there. Obviously Antonio Brown was just a one-week thing. So no tight end to throw to. So I do think New England has some issues with their weapons, their offensive line. And, you know, Brady probably just needs a little bit better situation around him to put up the same explosive numbers offensively. Steve Palazolo is the senior NFL analyst for pff.com, which we read the grades are fantastic. Now, again, when you grade defenses, do you consider, I want you to give us the top three defenses, but what do you consider?

Do you consider how bad the quarterback they played? Were they home or away? So when you rank defenses, what matters to you and then give us your top three? Yeah, so as far as defense goes, a lot of our study says defense is very dependent on who you play. So when you're sitting here six weeks into the season, you don't want to completely overrate the fact that we do have the Patriots number one and the 49ers number two right now. I think the Vikings are up there as well. They're very dependent on the quarterbacks that they play. And, you know, New England especially has had a pretty easy slate that they've gone up against.

They've got four or five games that I think will really test their defense a little bit more. But the more we study the numbers, defense is dependent on offense and who you play. And, you know, the quarterback is always the driver of everything. So when you play poor quarterbacks, your defense is going to look a little bit better. All that said, I do love the way the Niners have played. They've made a lot of pretty decent quarterbacks, you know, their worst games. So, you know, there's something to be said for what the Niners have done, improved pass rush and improved coverage, the biggest improvement, essentially, in the NFL

so far this season. Yeah, San Francisco also got, I think, five first round picks on that defensive front. So Solomon Thomas, who was seen kind of as a disappointment, can now be a great backup for the 49ers. Finally, listen, we know DAC has some limitations. You know, look at this year. Three good early, three not so good. But is it deceiving? is he better than we think? So, yeah, he's grading pretty well for us. He's still in the top five range as a quarterback. I still think DAC overall is kind of that mid-tier type of quarterback who, when the situation

around him is good, he'll be able to put up some pretty good production. I think that's what we saw those first three weeks. Again, the competition wasn't as good, but they were, you know, the Dallas was using tons of motion and early down play action, and he had all these easy throws as the competition has gotten more difficult, teams like the Saints, the Packers, the Jets have a decent defense that we saw last week. things have been a little bit more disjointed, I think, as far as the Dallas offense goes. But even last week, Dak was making a lot of pretty good throws, had a bunch of drops.

They're just not getting that same early down production. So I like the way Dak has played this year. He's in that top five range for us. See, that's interesting. So the number for the Saints, he actually played pretty well when you consider how good the Saints defense is. So that is Steve Palazolo, senior analyst, pro football focus. Go to PFF.com. The code is QB25.

Check it out. We do. Use it every day. 25% off. Thank you, Steve. Thank you. Good stuff. Yeah. So I like bringing them on once a week because your perception of what you see

isn't reality. So I thought Aaron Rogers was great on Monday night. And it just so happened. My eyes matched up because I said, you can't blame the interception on him, had to play from behind. Number one receiver's gone. Number two receivers gone. I thought all that considered I thought Aaron Rogers had one of his

best games in three years. I thought he was great on Monday night. He's also got a new coach. Hour 3 is coming up. Casper's the most loved and trusted sleep company in America. Go to Casper.com. The code is Herd. The Herd gets you $100 on select mattresses.

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Great to have in Bucky Brooks, NFL player, NFL Scout. You know how I love scouting. Guy looks at films, talks to executives all the time, and now works for the NFL network, and we bring him on. We try to bring him on every week. So, you know, you have a lot of connections in the NFL, and you scouted for years, Carolina and Seattle. By the way, Carolina's got really good players.

I don't know if you know the scouts there. Oh, yeah. They have done a really good job. Marty Henry's done a good job. They've assembled quite a roster. You're seeing those guys played really, really well. Now, they have quite a dilemma ahead of them. about this. So let's just be clear on this. Cam's been hurt. But his cap hit next year,

it's not guaranteed money. So it's virtually no cap hit and they're not paying Kyle Allen anything. So it's the weird, it's almost like Dax's first three years. Yes. They won't pay, if they got rid of Cam, they're not paying the quarterback anything, which allows you to go out maybe next year and roll the dice in a big free agent. What do you do? Cam is popular, the merchandise. He is an icon. He got to a Super Bowl. But man, they are effective without him. Yeah, no, the offense has worked really well without him.

I think what this break from Cam has done has allowed them to make the offense really Christian McCaffrey-centric. They build it around Christian McCaffrey. Christian McCaffrey is doing everything, having an MVP season. And then when you have Kyle Allen, Kyle Allen to me is the joystick of Norr Turner's offense, meaning all Cal Allen is asked to do is what Norv Turner wants the offense to do. He's always wanted his quarterback to do.

Just distributed to the playmakers, let the playmakers make the plays and the offenses roll. The other thing that he's done, he hasn't turned the ball over when it comes to interceptions. He's had some fumbles and some giveaways, but because he's managing the game and getting the ball out to the playmakers, we are seeing how talented the weapons are. In saying that, though, Cam Newton has to have the opportunity to run. this offense when he's healthy because when Cam Newton was playing last year and Norv Turner took over those first eight games. Cam Newton was having career marks. Six and two. Six and two, 67 percent completion rate, passer rating was over 100. What if you bring him back for the last four

games? He goes two and two. And then, so your argument is you got to give him a shot the last month of the year. You have to give him a shot because he was the franchise quarterback. He's done so much. and because he was an MVP player that led them to the Super Bowl, I just don't think he can lose his job in this manner. That's fair. However, I would have a conversation with Cam because the way that he was trying to play, he was trying to be something that he's not. I think Cam Newton has to play the way that he has always played.

I think you have to allow him to be the dual threat playmaker. He has to run around. He has to make plays. And knowing that he may not be a long-term possibility playing that way, I think he is at his best when he's allowed to play the way he played at Auburn. and the way he played the early part of his career. So I made the argument that be very careful about firing coaches because what the messaging is to the league is,

they'll embarrass your family right in the middle of the season. Cleveland, Jimmy Haslam, if he fired Freddie Kitchens, would be on his six coach in seven years. And what that is telling the best scouts, the best coaches, the best coordinator says, you can't move your family to Cleveland? This guy will humiliate you. I think they should have kept Hugh Jackson for the year.

I think they should keep Freddie Kitchens. regardless of how it lands for the next two years. If for no other reason, you've got to create some sense of we got your back. We're not going to humiliate. It's humiliating to be fired midseason. So I am all in Freddie Kitchens two years. Is that too long a leash? No, no, I don't think it's too long a leash.

I think it's very, very difficult to do what Freddie Kitchens is attempting to do. Freddy Kitchens is still a fairly new offensive coordinator and he's a first time head coach. Last year was the first time Freddie Kitchens called plays at the NFL level. It is hard to juggle and manage coordinating an offense, getting all the pieces of the puzzle together, getting everyone going, making play calls. Now he's being tasked with other responsibilities, running the entire team, make sure that the defense and the special teams are together, managing the overall game while still trying to figure out the best way to be effective on offense. A lot of things to juggle. I think what you have to do is you have to continue to try and. and help him continue to assemble a roster that has enough good players where you can win.

See if you can fix the offensive line. And then what you're hoping is that he matures into being a quality head coach. The best thing that can happen now during the byweek, Freddie Kitchens looks at the entire team and the offense in particular. Try to figure out here's where we are. Here's where we do well. Here's where we need to continue to build on and improve on. And then come back and find a way to have a run.

They're still in the race, obviously. So just find a way to be in the race the last month of the season, and hopefully everything will kick, will click. But he has to get the quarterback playing well. They have to run the ball first. And I think the one thing that no one is talking about that will really help them. Kareem Hunt. When Kareem Hunt comes. When he arrives, he and Nick Chubb, they can become a little more running game-centric.

Now, can Kareem practice right now with the team? He can do anything with the team right now. So November 10, he can be back, but he probably wouldn't play for the following week. Yeah, it probably take them a little while to get back up to speed. But I think when you have Karim Hunt and Nick Chub. And then Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry, I think you'll see a team that is more 12 personnel, one back, two tight-ins, two-wire receivers,

play a little more ball control like they did at the end of last season. That will help Baker Mayfield play well because spreading it out and trying to make Baker do everything, that doesn't work. When you go play action, it actually makes it easier for him to see. I think play action in the running game will help Baker Mayfield play. will and a solidified Freddie Kitchens as the head coach.

Okay, so this next question, as a scout, your job was in Seattle and Carolina as you built those rosters, accumulate information, and draft day is fun for you guys. Draft weekend is why you work. Yes. The Rams have basically said to the scouting department, we're not really interested in all your work. We're going to trade away picks, a lot of prized picks, which would be late first round generally anyway, and just go get players.

I get Jalen Ramsey. Marcus Peters works for short times. I think the staff was over him. Akeep Taleb got hurt, and they're like, let's go get the best corner. Do you love giving up two firsts? They gave up three picks, two great picks. How does that land for you as a former scout? I tend to offer players over picks.

Jalen Ramsey is a proven player. He's a known commodity. I know exactly what I'm getting. I have seen him play in Dominated International Football League, so I can kind of bank that he'll continue to be that player. He was drafted in the top five and played like a top five. and play like a top five player. I think the fascination comes from the mystery of

what can we get with these draft picks. But history would tell you that most draft picks in the first round are 50-50 coin flips. So you just don't know if you're going to get that same kind of player. However, I actually disagree with you when you talk about the scouts. It's actually putting more responsibility and showing that you have more confidence in your stops when you get rid of the first round picks.

Because now you're saying, I need you guys to go find. players in the later rounds? Who are some of the hidden gems that we can find that will not only make our roster, but upgrade the team and become key contributors? So the scouts for the Rams now have a tougher job because now you're depending on them to go and find those players that are undervalued but can come in and be really, really good players for them. You know, Jerry Jones said, he said Jason Garrett would be sought after on the market.

Now, it may it may sound crazy, but a lot of the top candidates in the NFL fire six, seven coaches a year are some college guys like Lincoln, Riley, and Matt Rule, some young guys who haven't been given a chance, like Chris Richard and

Eric B. Enemy. Those are not guarantees they work. I would argue Jason Garrett would be sought after, wouldn't he? He would be sought after. He would be sought after, one, he has a winning record in the national football league. His Dallas teams have won three-division. titles in the last five years. So you've seen when he's had a talented roster, he certainly can win the division, get them in the playoff, and he has a playoff win. With Dak Prescott.

With Dak Prescott, who some would say there was a surprise that you could get a fourth round quarterback up in playing to perform like a franchise quarterback. I think the other thing that will kind of work in his favor, Jason Garrett has had to do it in tough circumstances, meaning he has an overbearing owner, a owner who's also the general manager, a owner who is deeply entrenched in the decision-making process when it comes to building the team. In a different scenario, when he is just a head coach, and he has maybe an under-the-radar GM

who stays out of the limelight, who doesn't interview with the press every week, maybe he would have more success because the team would really be his team. He would be able to control the narrative that comes out of the locker room. He wouldn't be asked some of the questions as it relates to what Jerry Jones thinks.

I think Jason Garrett could succeed in another environment because he would have more control over what takes place on the team and have a bigger say on what takes place on the field. By the way, on this show regularly, you defend Baker Mayfield. I feel like in the game of chess that we play, I believe I have been able to take some of your ponds. I've been able to move the board. He had a lot of time to throw last week. He had a lot of time to throw and he's throwing interceptions.

And so part of the conversation that we started talking about, about was Freddy Kitchens. Freddy Kitchens, new time, first time, head coach, still trying to figure it out as an offensive play call it. The best thing that the Browns can do is lean on the running game. And the reason the running game will help Baker Mayfield is play action from under center, separates Baker Mayfield from the defense, creates bigger passing lanes when you throw off the fake.

The plays that are run are those chunk plays as opposed to trying to make these high volume dink and dunk passes. what you have to do right now with the young quarterback. And I think we kind of got ahead of ourselves when Baker Mayfield because he did have 27 touchdowns last year as a rookie. He's still a young guy. And he's adjusted to the way defensive coordinators are adjusting to him. They need to run the ball because now they can kind of predict and determine

how the defense is going to play. It can give him confidence. And then as he gains that confidence, then you can open up that offense and give it back to him. Right now he needs to see some of those. layups go into bucket. By the way, were you a scout when Russell Wilson was in college? No, I was done. I was working in media, but I followed him closely because he played at NC State. I got to ask you, when you watch Russell Wilson, so you did some scouting on him.

Oh, for sure. I scouted him. Yes. I've scouted him. Okay. Did you ever imagine this is going to be the result? I thought it would be a really good player. And I'm on record talking to people about Russell Wilson because I think what people fail to remember, Russell Wilson and NC State broke a bunch of Philip Rivers records. So for Philip Rivers to be the fourth overall pick, for Russell Wilson to play there and break his records. Under the same coach and offense. Same offense, pro-style offense.

And then the other thing that was telling, he left from NC State, went to Wisconsin. In a summer, he became the team captain. In that year, he led a pro-style offense, led them to the Big Ten championship game and played really, really well. Russell Wilson was a legitimate player. The only knock that you could have on Russell Wilson was that he was short. Yeah. But the special skills, the leadership ability, the pocket passing ability,

and the other stuff, man, he had it all. So because when I watched Russell, I'm like, how did I miss on this? So Deshaun Watson, you weren't to scout. But I remember when he came out, I said, Nick Saban had six weeks twice with him and could never stop him. We freaked out because Johnny Mansell once beat Nick, but we forget that that was in the middle of the season, and Alabama had come off two huge games,

and Johnny had a great half against him, then Nick shut him down in the second half. What did your buddies say about Deshawn Watson? Because it's one of these now I watch him, and I'm like, were we crazy? Yeah, we were. We were. And it's unfortunate because what happened with Deshawn Watson?

Deshawn Watson played on the big stage for too long, meaning Deshawn Watson, we saw him play for so long. We nitpicked him to death. Like that last year, that final season, when he was really stretching and trying to work on his game, he had more interceptions. But when it came down to it, in those pivotal moments in the ACC championship game, he played great. In the Final Four, he played great. And what you have to do as a scout, you have to trust your eyes.

And what happened? You had Mitchell Chubisky, you had Pat Mahomes, and he had Deshaun Watson. Well, Mitchie Chubisky and Deshaun Watson played in the same conference. I watched the games. It wasn't close in terms of. who they were as players. But sometimes when guys stay so long, you're trying to find a way to poke all the holes in him

and you don't appreciate what he has done, what Deshaun Watson accomplished in college. And the way that he played, we should have given more credit to him for being a winner and winning on the biggest stage. You know, Dick Vital once said this. He goes, you know, we love international players because we have limited tape.

Yes. And then the college basketball guy that plays at Marquette and we watch him, we're like, well, you know, it's crossover. And we nitpick our does. domestic players because we have so much film. And then we see some guy, you know, from Latvia, and we have grainy video. And you take two scouting trips and you're like, I mean, the guy is on, but it's like,

the more you see, it's almost like I tell my wife all the time, our kids are tougher on us. Yes. Than they are on their teachers because they're around us all the time. See you every day. So they just think we're the world's worst parents. And I'm like, we're around our kids too much. Yeah. So with Deshaun Watson, that was part of the thing.

And I think the other thing, for whatever reason, There's a fascination with Mitchell Chubisky. There was a fascination because he was maybe more prototypical or a classic. I don't know. But I think now when you go back and you look at Deshaun Watson's collegiate resume, he checked off all the boxes. Oh, my God. In big games, he performed well. He has statistics.

He could run and pass. He could do all the things. And now what people are finally getting a chance to find out about him, how cerebral he is. You're hearing him in press conference share how he wants to win. the game with his mind. And so this is what we've known. Obviously, you taught to Trent Dill for hours around when Deshawn was working and coming through

Elite 11 and people would tell you, look, he won at Pop Warner, he won in high school, he won in college. Those guys continue to find a way to win. He is showing us now in the National Football League what he's always shown us when he's coming up through the ranks. I like your point though. I think I think we all do that in life. The more

we're around people, we pick on them. Oh, for sure. We find all their faults and it's like, I'm sorry, but And, again, I don't think he's the most natural pastor. But when you watch Russell and Deshawn, it does make me think, were we just crazy? Yeah, we overlooked it. These guys make NFL defensive players look silly.

And also, it also happened at a time where the league is changing. Right, that's fairness. Because everything before it was a cookie cutter model, you had to be a certain height, you had to have certain things. Fair. And now we're seeing that more teams are going away from that model and saying, I'll just take the best player. The guy that plays the best on Saturday.

He's also going to play well on Sunday. Yeah, I mean, if you think about Russell Wilson, the quarterbacks that were under six feet that had been great were like Fran Tarkington. I mean, there wasn't. You really had to see it because even I was scouting. My first year scouting was when Drew Brees came out. And for all the success that Drew Brees had at Purdue, we couldn't put him in the first round because of what his height was.

That's right. Like that's why he went in the second round. And then Michael Vick, I think, was also in that class. The reason Michael Vick could get the nod, he was so special and spectacular as an athlete. Typically, that is the thing that can help you overcome. if you don't have their measurables. All right, former player in Scout, Bucky Brooks, NFL Network, good to see you.

Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Boy, the Cowboys really have an injury problem right now, especially looking ahead to Sunday's big matchup with the Eagles. Amari Cooper could miss the game with a quad injury that he suffered in last week's loss of the Jets. And defensive end, Tyrone of Crawford will undergo season-ending hip surgery.

Michael Irvin was on Philly Radio this morning, and he talked about Sunday's the game and his concern for the Cowboys. Honestly, it worries me. It worries me because Dallas has injuries in very key position right now, but I'm very concerned that the loser of this game may end up missing the playoff. This is a very pivotal game on Sunday with the Eagles and the Cowboys. And if you look at the injuries that the Cowboys have, Amari Cooper has the quad injury, Randall Cobb, back tightness,

Tyrone Smith is questionable with an ankle injury. Lyle Collins knee, Byron Jones hamstring, Anthony Brown hamstring. As I mentioned, Tyrone Crawford is out for the season with a hip injury. If you told me, if you told me today that Tyron Smith and Lyle Collins were out, I take Philadelphia. Like that's if they, with that defensive line, if you're telling me this morning that Tyron Smith is out and he didn't practice today, that absolutely changes the way I think about that. That one guy, that changes the way I think about that game. I already don't feel great about the game.

Now, I don't love the Eagles so far this season either, but the way that things have been trending for Dallas, it just feels like this is a game that if they lose this season... How about this? Not over, but... Callan Moore's never been a coordinator who's very young. In the offseason, he creates this offense, and he unveils it and it's pretty proficient.

Does Callen Moore have a second gear? Now, I'm not saying Kellyn Moore doesn't have a second gear eventually, but as a young coordinator, you unveil some stuff. People get film on it. In season, does Kellynne Moore have a second gear? Like we say about Freddie Kitchens, he's learning on the job. But it's also a lot to overcome all of these injuries, and especially Amari Cooper because Dak and Amari Cooper are...

That's it. I mean, that's a colossal part of their offense. I can make an argument that Dak's success is more... tied to Amari than it is Zeke. So him probably being out is a very big deal. So the Rams set out of Blockbuster Day yesterday, headlined by the acquisition of Jalen Ramsey, but they also made another big move

by sending cornerback Marcus Peters to the Ravens for linebacker Kenny Young and GM Les Sneed. He did not shy, it doesn't shy away from big trades. He made clear he's not afraid to do what it takes to win. He said, we're not going to be scared. We're not going to be reckless. Anytime you make a move, you try to have protocols in place that can help you make sound decisions,

but you're not playing for a tie. you're trying to go win. I had no problems with the moves that the Rams made yesterday. I like when you are aggressive, and especially if you have areas of need. Akeep Taleb is on the IR for several weeks, for eight weeks, I believe. And obviously they got rid of Marcus Peters as well.

So it was a space that you needed help. And who cares about first round picks when you know what Jalen Ramsey is? He's the best in the league. Go get him. You have a very serious division now, which you didn't have last year. and they also traded for an offensive lineman from the Browns.

So the offensive line with the Rams is what we have been talking about the most so far this season. So I like these moves for the Browns, be aggressive. And it worked for them last year. So sometimes different teams just have different tones. The Rams are aggressive. They pay people. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't.

But they were in the Super Bowl last year. So I'm okay with it. Finally, the Titans have made a change at quarterback. I feel like this should be a little more dramatic than it is. but Ryan Tandahill will start in place of Marcus Marriota on Sunday against the Chargers. He's been the guy in Tennessee since he was drafted second overall in 2015. He's disappointed in the decision, but he said he will take the opportunity to get better. Disappointed for sure.

And that's solely on my shoulder. I had an opportunity to play, and I didn't make the most of it. And, you know, I'm going to learn and grow from it. This is an opportunity for me to grow as a person and as a player. And I'm going to do everything I can to help Ryan and help the team. There's, yeah, by the way, there is a lot going for. First of all, he had the height in an era where you want your quarterback to be mobile. He had the mobility.

You know, he didn't have a bad arm. He's got a very capable arm. He's a nice kid. Like, people like him. And in the end, though, there is something called It. And he had a lot of turnover. It just kind of felt like what he came into the league as. He just, that was what he, Andy Dalton and Morayota come in.

They're pretty good the first two years, but there's nothing else there. He had a ton of college. I feel like he entered the league closer to his ceiling than we think. And he has had a lot of turnover. Offensive coordinator. And the old line's bad this year in Tennessee. That's also fair. But you have to overcome.

That's the whole story of the NFL is overcoming. And to be honest, it's great to be nice, but nice is overrated. I'm saying you should be a bad person. But, like, I want confidence. I want leadership, but also the ability to excel. And sometimes you just have to have that. Like, I understand when you're picking a franchise quarterback, you want a personality that, you know, you can go out and be in the community

and can talk to people and can get the locker room together. But there's more to it than that. It actually has to translate in the field. And you're not going to ever fool players. So you might be a great leader and a great guy, but if you don't have the talent, it really doesn't matter. It reminds me at Carolina that people will make excuses for Carolina, but you can see now they got the players. It's not it.

With Marriota, don't tell me Tennessee doesn't have players. Corey Davis is good. They got a Derek Henry's good. Humphrey's a good slot. Taylor Lewin left tackles, one of the best left tackles. I think Rabel's a confident coach. Like, you got to make stuff work. They have way better offensive pieces than a lot of teams right now.

I mean, the Rams have no running game. None. They have Derek Henry. Everybody, I mean, it's like the Jets. Sam Darnold, given decent pieces, he goes and beats the Cowboys. Like, you can't, I don't want to hear about Mario did not piece. They had enough pieces to win more game. My only confusion about this move is, one, I mean, you're saying you're moving off of Mariotta, right? This isn't a temporary situation.

Otherwise, why would you do it? And he's not playing well if you are thinking that you're going to move off of Marriota at the end of the season. You already know what Ryan Tannahill is. There's no confusion about what Ryan Tannahill is. If you might feel he might be slightly better than Marietta. I think he is. That's fine.

Do you feel like you're still able to make the playoffs this season? I think they do. I think they think who gives us a best chance to win Sunday? We're going with that guy. And I also think there is something to be said in the locker room. Are they making the move because he's lost a locker room? Yeah, you know, you're trying to get guys motor. motivated for the next game and sometimes it's

salesmanship. You know, Ryan gives a that's part of this league. I just think once you make that move, it's over. It's over. Yeah, joy with news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. NBA season starts in just a couple of days. What day is it? NBA season starts?

Tuesday. So there was a list that came out most exciting watches in the NBA. I think there's really five teams in the NBA that I'm not just interested. I'm kind of fascinated to watch what happens with them. And I'll give you my top five is the NBA season right around the corner. Best for Last coming up next.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Go further than ever with the Discover at Miles card. They automatically match first year miles. 35,000 could become 70. New card members only, Discover.com slash travel. In Best for Last today, the NBA season is just six days away. Zach Lowe is a very well-known podcaster and writer that covers the NBA,

and he had his 15 favorite teams to watch in the NBA. I don't think they're 15. I'm fascinated to watch. He had Philadelphia number one, which it was funny. I think Philadelphia is less interesting this year. Jimmy Butler was a little toxic. He's gone. Al Horford, who they call Al Borford, is now back.

JJ Reddick's gone. He's always fun. I don't think Philadelphia is that interesting. They may be better, but I think there's significantly less. interesting than last year. Last year it was chemistry issues, big personalities, a lot of stars. Now it's Ben Simmons and Joel Ambide and a 6'10 accountant named Al Horford. I don't think they're fascinating.

I think, you know, I think they could be better, but I don't think they're a great watch. I'll tell you the teams, here are my five best watches this year in the NBA for a variety of reasons. Number five. Golden State Warriors, number five. All right. We're getting peak Steph back. I like this team when it's led by step. The team acknowledged that sometimes with Kevin Durant they would coast.

I think you'll have more urgency. Also, Clay Thompson is out, so we have to see. Well, DeAngelo Russell, who early on in his career was immature. Can he play in a new system and not be the dominant ball guy? So you also have a new arena, which is going to be kind of fun to watch. And I think there'll be more urgency with Golden State. So I'd say they're number five on the five best watches this year in the NBA. Number four.

The Pelicans. Zion is the biggest college basketball star since, I mean, I don't even know, Christian Leitner. I mean, he's the biggest young basketball star since LeBron, but LeBron didn't play college. Then I think he had Lonzo Ball, who's the perfect fit for him. And Will LeVar, it's kind of fascinating. Will LeVar, now that he's free from the L.A. Hype and Dad, really explode if he can stay healthy in the NBA. So I think the pairing of Lonzo

on Zion, I don't think they're a playoff team, but I think it'll be a really good watch. Number three. I think the Houston Rockets. You've got two of the the two highest ball Eushits guys in the league playing together, Hardin and Westbrook. Now they played together years ago in Oklahoma City, but they weren't MVP's

at that time and they didn't have $150 million. There are two stars. Hardin just came off the best scoring year since Michael Jordan. He's not giving the ball up, and it's his franchise and his team. And Westbrook comes in there, licking wounds a little,

but he can't play off the ball because he's not a shooter, and guys don't develop into great shooters a decade into the league. So there'll be a fun, fun watch. You know, you also got this, you know, NBA China thing with that organization. I don't know what's happening with that GM and that coach.

And I think the new owner wants to win now, so Houston's three. Number two. I think it's the LA Clippers. Listen, last year, they sent the Warriors to six games with a healthy Kevin Durant. I think of all the duos in the NBA this year, their duo fits together, Kauai and Paul George. Then they have a bunch of grinders.

I think they're the deepest team in the league. You got Doc Rivers. They added Ty Lou. So, I mean, even their coaches are famous. Steve Ballmer's a dynamic owner. I think they're the best team in the league. Now, I don't think they'll be the best team in the league before the All-Star game, but they will be after.

Number one. I think it's the Lakers. I'm sorry, but I got LeBron coming off an injury talking about having a revenge to her. He may end up playing point guard. Anthony Davis and LeBron together could be fascinating because LeBron and Biggs have sometimes worked if sometimes not. Frank Vogels, the coach. Jason Kidd was hired under him. Will that implode?

And they brought in Delight Howard and Rondo and Javelle McGee and Danny Green. There's a lot of disparate parts. Cusma is the only young guy. Does he develop into a star? And it's the Lakers. It's the Cowboys. It's the biggest brand. You know, it's Real Madrid.

They're just certain people that are bigger stars that are more interesting. So I think the Lakers are the best watch in the year. I don't think they'll be as good as the Clippers. I don't think they're as good defensively as the Clippers. I don't think they're as deep as the Clippers. And we are out of time. Join everybody. We are back tomorrow on a Thursday.

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