The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Ezekiel Elliott and Jared Goff's Contract Extensions

Episode Date: September 4, 2019

 Colin comments on the Ezekiel Elliott’s contract extension, why it’s still Dak Prescott’s team, and why he prefers how the Rams do business. Guests include Jane Slater, Nick Wright, Joel Klatt, Frank Caliendo, and Bucky Brooks.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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All right, Zeeke got a new deal. Yes. He's got a new deal. I want to talk about that. I've been hearing now for months. This is Zeek's team. It runs through

Zeke. He is the most valuable player. You have got to got to get this deal. This is Zeke's team. Oh, really? Then he must have the world's worst agent because he just signed a contract that's less than Demarcus Lawrence.

That will be less than half of Dak Prescott. Are the Cowboys Super Bowl favorites now? Did the Dallas Super Bowl odds change? Because I see there are 10 teams in the NFL that have the same or better odds than Dallas. This has never been Zeke's team. This is Dak Prescott's team. When did the fortunes of this franchise change? Tony Romall hurt.

They were desperate. Dak stepped in and went 13 and 3. Let me ask you a question. If Dak Prescott had held out of camp, had refused to report, had gone down to Kabul to work out, do you think Jerry Jones would have been Cracking jokes about DAC.

Remember what Jerry said. This was of three weeks after Zeke had been holding out. Three weeks. What's your best negotiated with Zeke? Who? Pollard. Zickhood. Jerry would have been on a private jet his in 45 minutes a month and a half ago.

Because Tony Pollard is not Zeke, but you can win. a lot of games with Tony Pollard, that O-line, Dak, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, DeMarcus, Lawrence, Byron Jones, that running back linebacker duo. You do not win any games in the National Football League with Cooper Rush starting at quarterback. This is Dak Prescott's franchise.

Who do you trust, Dak or Zeke? Who do you want it to microphone after a game? Dak or Zeke? Who do you know will not be in Kabul for a camp ever holding out? This is Dak Prescott's franchise. Who's going to make double what Zeke did? Who's going to take every snap?

Who are you going to rely on trailing by seven in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia? It's not Zeke, it's Dak. This is Dak Prescott's franchise. This franchise with Tony Romo, it's fun to watch. And then Tony Romo got hurt, and it was a luxury liner going down fast. And Dak Prescott saved the franchise. Kept him on television. Okay, this is DAC's franchise.

Okay, Cooper Rush backs up DAC. The NFL gives us on an annual basis two new quarterbacks that like play. The NFL on the average year gives us a dozen new running backs. So I know nobody wants to pay DAC and DAC isn't this and Zika is that. And Zika is valuable. And Zika is amazing. Here's all I know is that. is that within the next six months to a year,

DAC is going to make over double Zeke. Demarchus Lawrence has already signed for more than Zeke. Amari Cooper will sign for more than Zeke. And ask yourself this, if your boss told you, you are the most important employee calling at the company. And then the guy sitting next to me made over double what I made. I'd be like,

how do I reconcile that whole, this is, will be going forward, DAC Prescott's franchise. I'm okay with that. I'm completely okay with that. He doesn't give me a lot of wow, but there's a lot of different ways to pay quarterbacks, and you can pay him on wins,

and DAC wins a lot. All right, I want to shift to this because somebody else got paid last night. He's also more important than Zeke. He's a quarterback, and his name is Jared Gough. He'll get $110 million guaranteed. That is over double the guaranteed money that Zeke will get. But let's not just talk about Jared Goff because I think he's a really, really good player. Many of you don't like him as much.

I think he's top 10 in the league. I think he's a better version of Matt Ryan, and I think Matt Ryan's one of the top eight, nine quarterbacks in the NFL. But what I really appreciate is the way the L.A. Rams did business last night. We are in the entertainment capital of the world. There are 31 music venues in Los Angeles. Most cities have three. There are a dozen professional sports teams.

It's Noah's Arc. We got two soccer, two hockey, two baseball, two football, two college, do everything. And that just showed up when you're watching TV on the bottom of the screen. Jared Goff, new contract, $110 million. Restraint. Cowboys have become the Kardashians. I mean, the Cowboys have become the Kardashians. Look how much I'm making.

Look at me. I've got a new this. And I got a new that. And here's what I make. And here's my luxury house. And I think a lot of this is Stan Cronkey, the owner of the Rams. He's legendary. He's the second richest owner in the NFL, almost double Jerry Jones net worth.

And you don't know what he looks like, and you'll never see him. And there's legendary stories that he often shows up for dinner to meet his friend, Al Michaels, and he shows up in the back of an Uber. Not like an Uber black, the expensive one, like a little Uber car. And Stan Cronky gets out. He's worth $9.8 billion. and that permeates the franchise. The Rams in Los Angeles, Aaron Donald, Jared Goff, Todd Gurley.

We may be in the city of Kardashians, but it's very non-Cardashian. And I like the way they do business. And here's the other thing. People tend to say, you know, Jerry is very pro player. But let me ask you this. If you had a son or a daughter that was 22 or 23 years old, And I want you to really think about this. Would you want their name out there, hoisted up there, wondering what their value is?

Jerry is theatrical. But sometimes the players are the cartilage. For the last six to eight weeks, we have talked about Zeke like he's more thing than human. Is he worth that? Is it worth that? Dak Prescott's not this. Dak Prescott's not that. Dak Prescott is that.

He's a human being. I wouldn't want my son or daughter's value being questioned on Instagram or Twitter or social media or debate shows all day. Stan Cronky actually loves his players. They don't become cartilage. Stan Cronky wraps up his contracts with his players and you discuss what now has happened, not Dak and Zeeke, what will happen. I like Jerry Jones. I do. I think he's a really good owner.

and he generally pays his players. But I don't like the way the cowboys often do business. They put their players up there like pinatas for guys like me to take wax at. Are you good? Are you not? Are you worth? Are you this? Wouldn't want that done to my kids.

I don't want people questioning whether my son or my daughter are worth this or worth that. If somebody respected me and did business with my kids, I would hope they just sign a contract or not. Let them go. Let them stay. But don't make them cartilage. If you care about employees as much as you tell me you care about employees, then worry a little or less about your brand and about selling tickets. I like the Cowboys and I like Jerry,

but I like the way the Rams did business with Aaron Donald, even in a holdout. I never really heard about it. Jared Goff last night, I did what you did. How about that? I didn't even hear that thing was coming. I don't like when players become, and I know, I'm a talk show guy. I have opinions. but I'd rather not talk about the value of human beings. Pam, I don't like having to talk about contracts,

but I've got to be honest, for the last month, it's the Cowboys. You've got to talk about it. Valuable players, contracts on the line. All I know is I like being surprised by new deals. I like waking up and hearing, oh, Carson Wentz got a bunch of money, good for him. Or waking up and hearing, oh, Jared Goff got a bunch of money, good for him. him. I don't begrudge any player making what they can. But sometimes I think to the detriment of the

athlete, the Cowboys brand take center stage, the money, the value, the worth. I wish we didn't have to talk about it. I wish we talked about the games and the passes and the catches and the touchdowns. And not about the humans and what they have to be worth are, could be, maybe not m. Anyway, congrats to both guys for making money. I just like the way the Rams did their business. A bunch of stuff to talk about today. It is interesting now because now we're going to go into the, oh, just Dak Prescott's going to make a bunch of money. I want to defend Dak Prescott. And something that hasn't been said about quarterbacks in this league and compensation, and I don't think we realize they're all actually compensated differently. That's coming up. Jane Slater's around the corner. She's going to give us

the update on Zeke and the deal. Yes, we have to talk about it. That's coming up, live in LA, The Herd. 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. 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.

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Open your free, I Heart Radio 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 walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. A rep. My mama want you to wave at her. What?

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The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. All right, great to have you in today. Yeah, Joy and I are matching. Didn't plan it that way. Lavender and Friends in the morning. I like that name. Clovis, New Mexico's best rock.

We're a morning show in Des Moines, Iowa this morning. We're matching. By the way, the colors are perfect. They look fantastic. Yeah, all you need is a little fancy barrette. My gray hair is my barrette. Let's go to Jane Slater in Dallas. She does a remarkable job for the NFL Network via the Coward Global Satellite Network.

So Zee's got a new contract. Reporter NFL Network. Let's start with this. Jane, first of all, thanks for stopping by. You have a lovely office. You made it to the big time. your office is way nicer than ours. Let's start with this. When did the deal, Jane, get done? Do we know what time? Well, it was my understanding when I touched base with them last night,

as late as 1045, both of these sides walked away. They could not get this deal done. And there was frustration. And they read an impasse again, very similar to what we saw happening on Sunday night. The big holdup I was told was this 30% rule, which is incredibly complicated, Colin. I've talked to a bunch of my colleagues about it. And probably the best person I've seen illustrate this is my buddy Albert Breer. He's got an article that I tweeted out where he outlines how the Eagles got around this with Carson Wentz. But it's essentially about where you can put the money based on this expiring the CBA. So the language there and then the cash flow about when he could get certain money and then just the way that he would get it, how he would get it,

continuing to be the holdup. It's my understanding that around 4.30, 4 o'clock this morning, Rocky Arsenaulte's agent reached out, talks were a go again. When I reached out with the Cowboys at 545, I was told Zeke is going to be at practice. I needed clarification given how I knew the tone of those conversations were going last night. And I was told we're finalized in the language. The deal is done. And so we just talked to head coach Jason Garrett. Zekio Elliott was up here at the building around 730. He was in the meetings. He had his press conference just now. And now he's out in that practice field, getting the work right now ahead of that game against the Giants.

Now, this became a very public negotiation. Melvin Gordon's hasn't. Jared Goff yesterday got paid. Carson Wentz was not. This was very public. I felt that Jerry was sort of trying to put pressure on Zeke, get him back into the country. It had gotten very personal.

I wonder how that landed. I would prefer, if I never had to talk about a contract again in my life as a talk show host, I'd be okay with it. How did you think all the public back and forth? stuff and it was mostly just Jerry and Stephen deliver and blows Jerry the last week. How did it land for Zeke? Yeah, I'm with you, Colin.

I'd be happy if I didn't have to cover another one of these either, but keep in mind, we still have Dak Prescott and Mari Cooper to go. I got the sense that, you know, on Thursday after that preseason game, when Jerry Jones essentially said, look, I'm not expecting Ezekiel here to play against the Giants. I feel

like that rattled the cage a little bit. The one thing that we've seen about Zique both on the field and off the field as he suffers from a little bit of extreme fomo. And I think that that helped here because over the weekend, we got forward that there were actually these meaningful, intentional talks that were taking place that would get him back to Dallas. And then, you know, for Shannon Sharp was on undisputed yesterday saying he's on a plane. So he was heading back here. When they were able to catch up with him at the airport, that's when Rocky essentially said, look, we're here in Dallas. This shows you our commitment to get this deal done.

Jerry went on the radio yesterday, said he's not messing around. But I wouldn't be surprised if sort of the words that were used and already excluding him from the game rattled Zeke's cage a little bit. Now, we haven't talked to Zeke. We are hoping to talk to him during locker room today. That's going to be at 1.30 central time. So maybe we'll be able to fill in the blanks here a little bit. I don't expect him to elaborate too much. I think at this point, both sides are just happy that the deal is done

and all the messiness that went on behind the scenes we may not know the true nature of. And finally, Jane Slater, NFL Network, joining us live from Dallas. Listen, he's not been hit. There's a difference working out and being a running back. I can't imagine this is not a 25-carry performance against the Giants on Sunday. Is there any sense of how much you'll play? Look, I was told the plan if he was here today, that he would play 20 to 25 snaps in the game. And then behind him, they've got the rookie Tony Pollard, who's continued to impress.

Now, what's interesting, I was told was while they trusted this rookie with the route, running and as a receiver, they still want to use their fullback. Jamais, Al-a-Wali, as a guy that they was described to me as best blitz pickup back they've got on third down. So that's the plan as of now. Now, I did ask Jason Garrett today, did Zee-go through a conditioning run similar to what we see from these other players when they start training camp? He said no. He'll go through what he described as a dynamic warm-up out there on the practice field. He described Ezekiel Elliott as a very instinctive, smart player. He reminded us that he didn't play a lot, if at all, during the season in the past.

He did miss those six games with the suspension. And what we saw during all those cases, it took him about a week and a half to get in a rhythm. So they're going to evaluate him this week. They're going to, as Jason Garrett described it, it's going to be all about trust, trusting the player using the eyeball test. But Garrett described him as being in good shape today. So we'll have to see how this week progresses. Jane, great stuff, NFL Network.

Jane Slater. Once again, best office in the business. Look at that. That is so well done. Thanks, Jane. Not that you don't have a nice office, Joy. It's just ours is not that nice. You know, I didn't ask her about DAC because she doesn't have any new news to report on DAC or Amari.

And if I don't have to talk about that the entire season, I'll be really happy. Let me state it again. I don't have a problem with guys getting paid. I like the way the Rams do business. I'm not a big fan of players becoming cartilage on opinion shows. And I'm an opinionist talking about contracts and what people are worth and what they're not worth. I mean, it's my job. I got to report it.

If you work for the Washington Post, you've got to talk about the president. If you work for the New York Times and you cover the Middle East, you're going to have to talk about, you know, death and conflict. This is what we talk about. And the Cowboys are a huge brand. I'd prefer never to talk about this stuff. I hate contracts. I think, guys, people make so much money now in sports.

It's not relatable to fans whatsoever. The average American makes $62,000. I don't think it's great to talk about guys making $110 million. I think it pulls away at the fabric. of the connectability between athletes and fans. There's no connection now to what athletes make and 300 million and 500 million. But we have to talk about it.

Dax contract's going to be a big deal. Here's Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, let's talk about another person who's trying to get a contract again. Melvin Gordon.

His days of the Chargers could be coming with a net to an end. He's looking for a trade from the team. The Chargers have a very steep price, however, for anyone interested in acquiring the Pro Bowl running back. According to Pro Football Talk, a first round and fifth round pick must be included in any trade package for Gordon. That's pretty steep. It's very steep, yes, and especially considering any team that trades for him

is going to be on the hook for over $10 million in his contracts because they're going to be negotiating an extension that he's asking for from the Chargers if he's going to be traded somewhere because otherwise he's going to become a free agent. and they're certainly not going to trade a first and a fifth round pick for someone for a one-year lease. I like Melvin Gordon a lot. I'd give up a second rounder for him, but I drafted him in the first round, and he's been dinged up with injuries.

So that tells me I'd give a little less than he initially was drafted for. It would be a second contract to a running back that's had some injuries. I mean, essentially, it's a first-round pick you're giving up. Because really what is a fifth-round pick? if you need a running back of Melvin Gordon's status, which is the only reason why you would be in having a conversation with the charges to begin with. So if you're willing to part with a first round pick for Melvin Gordon, which I would because I would rather go with a known commodity than an unknown.

I don't think I would. Well, one of the teams that's in the conversation about a possible trade partner is the Ravens. And I think that kind of makes sense. I mean, you have Lamar Jackson. He counts for, he's still in a rookie deal. He counts for $4 million against the cap for the next three years. That team's interesting because this is what they are a, they're going to be a. I mean, they're a running team to begin with.

Yeah. So let's just get better at the whole. No, I mean, listen, by the way, if they do that, that division's interesting. Between Pittsburgh and between Baltimore and Cleveland, that is a very interesting move if Baltimore made it. And I don't, I don't hate it for them either. And if you look at, because you're really just giving up a first-round pick. And if you look at the teams that have the most cap space in 2020, the Colts, the Dolphins, the Texans, the Bill. Cowboys Seahawks, Cardinals, Ravens.

There's really not a lot of teams on there that need someone like Melvin Gordon. Why would the dolphins do that? Mark Ingram, Melvin Gordon, Lamar Jackson. That team actually is, again, I don't know if I give up a first rounder for it. But I would say this, if I was Baltimore, I'd be interested in Melvin Gordon. I try to negotiate down to a second and a fifth. I mean, the fifth to me just doesn't is, okay, like whatever. That's a fifth round pick.

What are you going to make of that? Like you could hit and it could be in your bound. it could be absolutely nothing. Right. The first round is what you're concerned about, but you're going to have to do something if you want to get Melvin Gordon. And, again, to me, I would rather go with what I, production that I know I'm going to have for at least the next three years, which you're assuming Melvin Gordon is going to do.

If, it's interesting. So the Ravens are not going to be a top 10 draft team because I think they'll win enough games. So let's say they win low ball it, seven games. Right. They'll probably have the 15th pick, 18th pick. So is Melvin Gordon right now? better than the 15th pick. A lot of it depends on, if you look at the

draft, like we knew this draft a year out, this past one, was going to be all full of defensive linemen. Like that's what everybody knew. It wasn't going to be a big, you know, quarterback draft. So it depends. If you're Baltimore, you're a year ahead of the draft, you say, okay, we draft 17th, what's available. And if you say to yourself

Gordon's the position and the player better than what we think we can get, then you probably go for it. And you know his character. Yeah, good guy. Good guy. So, I mean, to me, to me, that makes sense. So, Antonio Brown News. So he skipped a lot of training camp this year working through his helmet grievance and obviously he had the issue with his speech. Well, he received a letter from Raiders GM, Mike Mayock, informing him that the team must find him for one of those practices and a missed walkthrough.

He posted a picture of the letter and explained his unhappiness with the fines by commenting, when your own team want to hate, but there's no stopping me now. Devil is a lie. Everyone got to pay this year so we clear. So he posted that on Instagram. They find him $13,950 for an unexcused missed walkthrough on August 22nd, which is kind of confusing because that was the day of the game in Canada. Aren't these all CBA things?

Yes. They're a combination of the CBA and the team's own fine structure. So they also find him $40,000 in missing training camp on August 18th, which was a part of the helmet grievance. It seems, I mean, whatever's required by the CBA is the CBA. like that's not, you can't, what are you going to do? Like, it's not the team. Whatever's coming from the team, though, if this is anything additional,

seems a bit counterproductive to establishing a good relationship with Antonio Brown. Not that I'm defending this because I don't like him posting a letter from the GM on Instagram. Yeah, that's not great. Not how I would handle it. But I do think that there's something to it if the team has decided to find him for that while publicly saying that they support him in the helmet briefs. Well, they could argue the same thing. We wanted to start a relationship, and look what you did do it.

You're a best player. We paid you a ton, and you started the relationship like a 12-year-old. So we're going to fine you. And then Antonio Brown goes back to saying, okay, I'm going to put it on Instagram. This is the downside to getting highly dramatic players is you get into these silly spats. I mean, so how I would have handled it is if it is something that's in the CBA, I would have gone to him first. Like, this is a CBA thing. Right.

We have no control over it. We could also technically find you, according to, our fine structure. We're choosing not to because we supported you in the helmet grievance. But as far as the CBA, we have no control over that. So that's what this is, as opposed to just sending a letter. Now, I don't know how it really went down. Maybe they did talk to him, and he just wasn't pleased with it. But either way, he posted it.

Listen, some people have the capacity to deal with highly dramatic players. I've always said, I wouldn't be that GM. I'm not into neediness. I just not into those kind of people. If I marry somebody, I can't be your social director. You have to have a life beyond me. So I couldn't handle A-B. But some general managers are very comfortable dealing with, you know,

Mike Tomlin deals with a lot of stuff. So Pete Carroll has. So I think it comes down to as an organization. Are you comfortable? Like Sean McVeigh was comfortable enough and it's worked. And Dominic and Sue has been a pain in the butt for team. You know, liked it. So like certain teams can handle this.

Certain teams can't. It depends on the owner of the GM. And that's kind of the tradition of the race. is having big personality. Big personalities. Yeah. So finally, Kyler Murray's been impressive

leading up to his first NFL season. He gets a lot of attention for his mobility. But his teammate running back, Chase Edmonds, thinks his accuracy is actually overlooked. So he said, obviously he's a dynamic quarterback. He can change the whole style

of a team's offense when he scrambles. But I think it's overshadows how accurate he truly is and just how calm he's able to stay under pressure or how he's so quickly able to settle back and get an accurate throw. going on. And head coach Cliff Kingsbury also praised his quarterback's arm. He said, I've been around some pretty good ones, and he's up there

when you're talking about just touch and accuracy and quick release. Consistency throwing a tight spiral. If he doesn't throw a spiral, it's like, I look at him like, are you okay? Are you good? And actually, one of the things that's interesting is his completion percentage is not that far off from Baker's. And that was the most important thing about Baker coming out into the draft was that he was the most accurate quarterback in all of college football. Very. Very, very. To me, that's the most important thing in a quarterback's transition from college to pros, because the game speeds up so much.

Yes. And you have to throw players open as opposed to throwing to the open receiver. Yeah, the window gets very tiny in the NFL. It's a whole other game. But he had a 69 completion percentage in 2018. Baker had 70.5. So just slightly lower than Baker in completion percentage. No, you know, Kyle, the arm thing is the size thing worries me.

Sometimes the run thing worries me, but he throws. You know, he's accurate. Like, he's a baseball player. He knows where to put the ball. Which was something that ended up making advantage for Patrick Mahomes soon. Absolutely. I'm very excited to see what kind of does this year. That division could be just crazy fun.

Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. You know, there's a lot of different ways in America to get paid. You know, you can the millionaire next door book, where you don't make a ton of money, but you max your 401k, you put money. away, you live humbly, you pay off your house. Then there's people who get, you know, their mom and dad were rich, they pass away and they leave them money. And the same in professional

careers. There's a lot of different ways to get paid. Sometimes you have leverage. Sometimes there's scarcity of your job. You'd be surprised in hospitals who gets paid the most and who gets paid the least. It's not always the flashiest most honored degree. The anesthesiologist makes the most money in a hospital. Look it up. You wouldn't think so. You'd think the baby doctor, who's delivering life, would get paid more. No, the anesthesiologist makes nine times more. It's the same in the NFL for quarterback. So, Dax's going to get paid. And the knock on Dack is, well, there's not a lot of wow throws. There's not a lot of wow moments. I mean, the biggest play for him last year was a quarterback scramble. There's not a lot of, he doesn't throw for 4,000 yards. He doesn't have

one throw that we're like, oh, remember the rolling at, he doesn't have any of those. There's a lot of different ways to get paid. Eli Manning has gotten paid off two games. Super Bowls beating Brady. Andy Dalton got paid. A lot of money because Andy Dalton walked into this league, had a bunch of good players around him in five straight years. They made the playoffs.

Dax going to get paid because he wins games. Joel Flacco got paid a fortune because he won two playoff games. the AFC Championship and then the Super Bowl. Flacco never gets paid because he's mobile. Certainly doesn't get paid because he's accurate. Joe Flacco got paid because in a contract year, he had two huge wins and played really good in both. Kirk Cousins got paid $28.5 million.

It's not big. He doesn't win big games. But he got paid because of what they call scarcity of quarterbacks. He was on the market. Nobody else was out there. and it wasn't a great year for college quarterbacks. Dax's not going to get paid because when I watch him, I don't see Russell Wilson's athletic ability.

I don't see Tom Brady or Matt Ryan's precision. I don't see Carson Wentz's size or athletic ability. I don't see the beautiful football down the field Jared Gough throws. But there's a lot of different ways to get paid. Jimmy Garoppolo, my friends, is being paid on potential. Matt Stafford's always been paid on his arm. Cam Newton's paid because he's sort of an athletic freak. The numbers say he's not that accurate.

Okay, Dak Prescott, consistent, reliable wins games. McDonald's did not become the number one fast food chain because their burgers tasted better than everybody else's. But they were fast, they were inexpensive, they were consistent, they were reliable, and they were on time. Southwest Airlines, doesn't you, even have a first class. But it's the highest profiting

most known airlines, I believe in America, because they're on time. Not really expensive. They don't cancel many flights. Safety record is impeachable, unimpeachable. There's a lot of different ways to become number one.

There's a lot of different ways to get paid. The Cowboys were a disaster. Tony Romo got hurt. Fourth round DAC stepped in. It's reliable. he's mobile enough he never gets hurt he's pretty good in the fourth quarter he wins games in division he's often better in the fourth on the first quarter he's kind of the anti-romo he's not flashy he's not that much fun to watch but he never gets hurt tony did he doesn't make the big mistake tony did yeah tony romo was more fun to watch but tony didn't win as many

games as dack does and if tony was getting paid today you'd be okay with it. Nick Wright, around the corner. Live in L.A., it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kier Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. 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 here on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show,

I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep. My mom, I want you. you to wave at. 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? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

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

That man, hell get the flying. 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 great to have you back dach's got a new deal dach's not getting a new deal yet zeke has a new deal jared goff got a new deal and i want to talk about both and some predictions as we head into the nfl season it gets fun for us right now after labor day By the way, today's Wednesday.

Tomorrow I get Packers at the Bears. Yesterday I was going out for a sandwich and the guy said, hey, when's the NFL season starting? I'm like in 36 hours. And so I think it catches a lot of us off guard. It's summer's ending, NFL starting tomorrow night. Let's go to Nick Wright via the Coward Global Satellite Network. All right.

So the Cowboys are all buttoned up. They've got all their players, Nick. And so I imagine you see them as a playoff team and a lucky break from the Super Bowl, right? I do not. Listen, I think the Cowboys were drawing dead for the postseason if they didn't get Zeke in. They are now alive for the postseason, in my eyes, along with nine other really quality NFC teams. And so when you're in a conference with 10 viable playoff teams in no particular order, Philly, Dallas, Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, New Orleans, Carolina, Atlanta, Seattle, and the Rams. and that's leaving out your adorable

beloved San Francisco 49ers. You're going to have to make some tough cuts. I tend to err on the side of coach quarterback. Don't love Dallas's coach. Don't trust their quarterback. And even if they get into the tournament, unless something catastrophic happens with Carson Wentz, it will be as a wild card team.

And there is no chance none in 2019. I guess then it'd be 2020. A Dak Prescott led team. is going to win three consecutive road playoff games. So unless something happens to wins, I don't think they can win the division. I don't think they're going to be a wildcard team. I think it's going to be nine and seven and a good, not a great, not a championship level team. Now, you don't love Jared Goff if I recall as much as I do, but I think something happened.

I think something happened with Jared Goff. First impressions are incredibly powerful. And it just so happened, Jared Goff, took over the Rams. And they were on hard knocks, and it was awful, and he didn't know east from West, and the offense with Jeff Fisher was impossible to watch. And then the last two years, he's been utterly brilliant, but a lot of people cannot get past that first year. Now, Patrick Mahomes, he got to sit in the bench with Andy Reed,

so we don't get the misgivings of the young quarterback. I think Goff, who signed a deal yesterday, is the future for 10 years. I think he and Mahomes will meet in a – and I say this seriously, over the next 12 years in multiple Super Bowls. I think there will be the two legends. But you don't like golf as much, right? Yeah, listen, I think Jared Goff has shown the ability to be good. I have not seen him be great.

I understand the numbers over the last two seasons since Sean McVeigh took over. The numbers appear to be pretty undeniable. 12 wins a season, 30 touchdowns a season, 101 rating a season. I get all of that. I also think it's been under the ideal circumstances, not just because of the head coach, but because of the talent around him. And I would be concerned with that player, how good is he going to be once we pay him and therefore we have to pair away the talent around him? Now, I shouldn't be surprised he got this deal. Number one overall picks who make a couple pro bowls at that position and then lead their team to the Super Bowl, those guys always get paid.

I was excited about the idea that maybe just maybe the Rams were going to be an incubator for an experiment that I wish one team one day would try, which is we're just going to keep rolling over the quarterback on a rookie contract. We are always going to have a stacked roster because we're going to draft the quarterback. We trust our coach. We're going to keep them for five years. Franchise tag him. Let someone else take him for those two first round picks and start this sucker again. They obviously are not going to go that way. with it. We'll see how it works out with them. One last point on golf. You mentioned first

impressions are very noteworthy. That is true. The next most noteworthy impression is the most recent impression, and Jared Goff, before Cooper Cup went down through 10 weeks, was extraordinary. After Cooper Cup went down, his pass rating dropped 30 points, and the Rams were very beatable. That speaks to my theory of, okay, Cooks, Woods, Cup, plus Gurley, plus McVeigh, he's also remove any one or two of those ingredients. Can he still be great? That's my concern. And by the way, that's one of the reasons I have your Rams out of the playoffs this year.

So let's talk about that. I obviously think they're very good and for a lot of different reasons. Let's talk about the NFC. So give me your division winners and then give me your two wild cards. So go for it. Give me your division winners and wild cards. No problem. And so I'll give you the division winners.

in order of how I think they'll finish. I think the Packers are going to bounce back with an MVP level year from Aaron Rogers and improved defense, given the money they spent on it, and a reinvigorated team with the new head coach. I think they're going to be 12 and 4 and have the best record in the NFC. Two seed the Philadelphia Eagles, who will be fighting with the Packers for that top seat all year long. Three seed, I'm sure this is one where we disagree on. The Carolina Panthers last year through eight weeks were six and two.

Football outsiders said they were the third best team in football. then T.J. Watt wrecked Cam Newton's shoulder in their season went to hell. And the four seed, the Seattle Seahawks, who even in a down year went 10 and 6 and went to the playoffs in the playoffs but not winning their division, Saints and Bears. Okay. So, I'm concerned about the Saints. Yeah. Go ahead. No, no, this is good. I want to say this, though. So you don't have the Rams. You don't have the Cowboys. You don't have the Niners. You don't have Atlanta. Now, these are tough choices. What I see right here is you still buy Mitch Trubisky and the Bears.

That's what I see. Well, listen, they won 12 games last year. Even if they take a couple games step back, I think there's still a playoff team. I don't think Trubisky will be worse than last year. A God willing, their kicking situation won't be worse. Their defense should be as good. A full off season from Roquant Smith. Kalee Mack didn't go anywhere.

And I really like their coach. And as far as the teams I don't buy, I'm not including San Francisco in this. Jimmy Garoppos played 10 games in his life. He's got hurt badly in two of them. Throw them out of it. Now, the Rams, I think the Super Bowl hangover is a real thing. And I also don't think they're going to have the absurd health they had each of the last two regular seasons. You mentioned the Cowboys.

I think Cowboys will be good, not great. It's just hard. And you know this, Colin. Every year in the NFL, there is a minimum, a minimum of four. new playoff teams, it's usually five. So you can't just go chalk. You've got to find those new teams. In the NFC, the new teams to me are Panthers and Packers.

I obviously like both their quarterbacks a lot. I'll start there and almost work backwards. All right. Let's go to the AFC where I saw your picks. And I don't even know, maybe you made these in the wee hours of the morning. You were tired, slightly loopy. Go ahead because I think I agree with two of them. Fire away.

Okay. All right, Patriots, the one seed. I don't have them going to the Super Bowl. I think the Chiefs get their revenge in Gillette of the game. They should have won last year at Arrowhead. But they'll be the one seed. Soft schedule. There'll be six and one at a minimum through seven weeks.

They'll be the one seed. The Chiefs, the best team in the NFL, they're the two seed. The Browns, the most talented starting 11 on both sides of the ball in the NFL. They win the AFC North. And in the Colts. I really like the Colts infrastructure. I like their coach. I like how they're built.

And I think Jacoby will be fine. That goes against the Houston Texans who have just, I think, a clueless head coach, don't have any real infrastructure, just have Deshawn, Newk, and JJ. And then the wildcard teams, the Ravens love the Earl Thomas edition, love their coach. Lamar will add an element that you almost have to specifically game plan for the Ravens, different than any other team. And then there's the bills.

And I'll be honest, I had to talk myself into my own bills pick. However, every year, there's one. one playoff team that everyone thought was going to be bad. We say, oh, who's your sleeper? And everyone's like, oh, the Niners are a sleeper. And it's like, no, they're not a sleeper. Vegas has them at nine wins. You got to pick at least one team that's projected to win five or six games. I am to quote a semi-wise man circling the wagons like the Buffalo Bills. And I think they're going to squeeze their way to nine wins and make the playoffs. I don't really want to argue with you too much about the bills, though, because I'm not certain how much I believe it.

By the way, it's kooky, but I think it's fun. I will say this. I don't think your Carolina picks crazy because I told my staff, I think I told Joy this yesterday. I feel great about every division except the NFC South, and I can look at Carolina's schedule, and it's 11 and 5, and I would not, I picked Atlanta, but I would have no problem if Carolina went 11 and 5.

We got a minute and a half left. You and I have disagreed a lot on Cam. Is it fair to say, though, this year? if they do not deliver, the new owner perhaps does not see Cam, he doesn't care about the rearview mirror stuff. In a minute, what do you project for Cam if it doesn't go well because they got a new owner and he doesn't care about four years ago? If it doesn't go well, then I think the 2020 season, Cam could potentially be playing for his job. But I do think there are quarterbacks who have accomplished far less who we give a far. greater margin of error than we do Cam Newton. People say he's injured all the time. The guys

missed five games in his entire career. People say how good, Kant, is he really? Well, he did win a league MVP and come a quarter away from winning a Super Bowl, it may be a drive away from winning a Super Bowl in a 15-1 season. But yes, things are set up well for them. Despite how they looked against the Pats, I like their offensive line, love McCaffrey, DJ Moore should be the best receiver they've had since Steve Smith. And the defensive. Offensive editions. Gerald McCoy, Bruce Irvin. I think that they will get back to Carolina Panther defensive football, so I expect big things from them, a la what they were showing us the first eight weeks of last year

before T.J. Watt wrecked Cam Newton on just, I'm not a dirty play, but just an absolutely brutal hit in the pocket. Nick Wright calls first things first, buddy. Can't wait for the NFL season. Good seeing you. Absolutely. I'm excited for you to get one of those Patrick Mahomes headbands with the hair. and get on the bandwagon, my friend. Don't be wrong like last year. No, I think they're going to win their division. I wouldn't be shocked at all if they're in the Super Bowl. Nick Wright, good to have him on the show.

I've said before. I think Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff for the next decade. And by the way, Andy Reed and Sean McVeyer are a big component. I do not believe you can be great. Hall of Fame stuff. Dan Marino had Shula, Fouts had Coriel, even if you don't want a Super Bowl. Nobody wants to give Andy Reid or the coach of flashy quarterback's credit. I think Mahomes is going to don't.

dominate the AFC now that Andrew Lucks out for the next 12 years, most of it. And I think Goff and McVeigh will mostly dominate the NFC. Again, you don't tell me all the great quarterbacks. Troy had Jimmy. Bradshaw had Noel. They all have great coaches. Hour two next. One 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 the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Lights 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 athletes 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. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

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

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? My quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, Brett, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford 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. Toledano and our podcast, point. 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 Nasree.

He has to guard Julius Rand. 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 run up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ah, here we go. Hour 2, live in L.A. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, about five minutes out from Joel Klatte. We will scream at each other. We always do. Joy Taylor is joining me also today. Frank Caliando, very funny guy. He was on hard knocks doing a John Gruden impression. I haven't seen Frank a long time, so Frank will join us.

I loved his impression of, I mean, he's been doing the Gruden impression for a long time, but on Hard Knocks, it's nice to see that Gruden is cool with, you know, you've got to not take yourself so seriously. Yeah, a lot of, John Madden initially did not like the imitation of him. And then John Madden, I think, warmed to it after a while because it was just so good. It was so dead on. And that John Gruden has embraced it the whole time. And it's funny, and he does sound, I got to be honest with you, he sounds exactly like John Gruden. And it's a compliment, really.

Of course. It means your character and you're impressionable. When I was a kid, I used to do Vince Scully and Keith Jackson impersonations because they were like, I thought Vince Scully was the most amazing baseball announcer on radio I'd ever heard. Did you do them well? No. And then I did Keith Jackson because I grew up loving college football and hire everybody like Keith Jackson. And I love Keith Jackson. So that's who I impersonated.

There's nothing against the other guys. But some guys, the ones that are the most embedded are the ones that are the most memorable. And those, you know, the Brent Musburger's and, you know, the Joe Bucks. And those guys, you grow up in your kid. They're part of your childhood. And imitation is a form of flattery. That's well put. So, by the way, Zeke is now at practice for the Cowboys.

He signed his contract. It's about $50 million a year, which is top of the class. It's in that Todd Gurley class. And I know the Rams this morning don't love their Todd Gurley contract because he got hurt. But Zeke is an important player. I don't buy that Zeke's the most important player. I think Dak Prescott is the franchise. He's going to make over double what Zeke makes.

He's the guy I want in front of the microphone. He's the guy I want touching the ball late. But Zeke isn't a lot of wow. 23 touchdowns, 3,500 yards, but he wins a bunch of games, and I think he's a grown-up in an adult, and I think it's Dax team. I don't think it's Zieg's team, although I think Zieg is really talented. I think Aaron Donald's really talented, but I think it's Jared Gough's team and Sean McVease team, not Aaron Donald in Los Angeles.

But I will say, if you're a high school running back, a college running back, or an NFL running back, this is a good day for you because Zeeke got paid. And there is this narrative out there now that running backs analytically don't deserve the money. So running backs today, if you're listening. Number one, you should be happy today. Now here's two things you have to root for or against in the NFL. Rout against the Chargers now and root for the Jets. Because if the Cowboys win and they have been winning,

you know, Zeke's not going to get all the credit, but some of it. But if the Jets win, you're not going to give any credit to Adam Gase, right? Crazy Press Conference guy fired in Miami. If the Jets win, everybody's going to be like, mad love for Laveam Bell. And if the Chargers lose, and there could be a lot of reasons, when James is hurt, Russell Locoons hurt, everybody's going to go, Guy out of Melvin Gordon, because narratives in this league, it's such a copycat league,

narratives change overnight. I'll give you an example. When RG3 got drafted and then got hurt, literally, you can't draft a quarterback who runs. You can't win that way. I mean, it's literally malpractice if you're a general manager. And then Russell Wilson gets and wins the Super Bowl, and then Cam Newton gets to Super Bowl. And Lamar Jackson, he makes the playoffs. Everybody's like, now, you know, you can't draft a guy just sit back in the pocket.

Kyler Murray. He's like 5'8. Doesn't matter. He can run. Narratives change. My whole life, in television ratings change narratives. In football, Wednesday. I'll give you an example.

When I grew up, Johnny Carson was a talk show host. He wouldn't talk politics. And Johnny's ratings were number one. So nobody else that was doing talk shows was talking politics. And then a bunch of years later, Stephen Colbert comes in as a late-night show. and then he talks a lot of politics. And after about a year on the air, he started getting the best ratings. And then Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, you guys got to do politics because that guy's doing politics.

And Jimmy Fallon's like, I don't like politics. I don't do politics. I don't follow politics. Got to do politics. Because Colbert's doing politics and his ratings are better. In television, whatever gets the ratings, everybody copies. Even if you don't have the personnel to do it. And in the NFL, if you win, everybody's like, that's the only way to do it.

want to keep my job. So the narratives that running backs aren't worth anything, I think analytically, I would not always want to pay a running back big money. But if the chargers go down without Melvin Gordon, if the Jets win in Labian Bell's big and the Cowboys win in Zeke is spearheading that offense, guess what? There'll be a little recalibration into, well, I mean, of course, running backs matter. A little they carry the ball 25 times.

And this is just the way football works. Seven years ago, it was they can't have a running quarterback. And then Russell Wilson changed everything. For years and years, you couldn't have a quarterback under six feet, too. And then Russell Wilson got Johnny Mansell drafted. Then Russell Wilson got Baker Mayfield drafted. Then Baker Mayfield got Carter Murray drafted. Now it's like, height doesn't matter.

My whole life, height mattered. It was like, got to be big, got to be strong, got to have a huge arm. Now it's like, oh, arm, size, you're running around, make stuff happen. So I think, I mean, my takeaway in all this is, good day for running. backs and don't freak out that none of you are going to get paid. Let me say this. I want to do something quickly on the Packers. So Matt LaFleur, Matt LaFleur is the new coach of the Packers.

And we know that Aaron Rogers got a little testy on the audible thing. Remember Aaron got a little testy on like the audible thing? Well, Matt LaFleur yesterday, the coach also got a little testy on all the audible talk stuff. I recall talking to the combine. You mentioned that audibles weren't a big part of. You guys just will not stop with this audible thing. It's unbelievable. What do you guys want me to say?

I think that we've always had adjustments within our plays. Like, it's just we called it something different. And the fact that I didn't call it an audible, everybody's running wild with it. So it's comical to me. Green Bay needs the season to start right now because they are, and let me tell you some, we're going to find out really quickly if this thing works. Green Bay's first five games, they face five of the best pass rushes in the NFL. Bears, Vikings, Denver, Philadelphia, Dallas.

They get no breaks. Denver's not a great team. What do they do well? Rush the passer. So we're going to figure out this Aaron Matlifluor thing really quickly. And I think Green Bay is going to win the division. I think they're going to beat Chicago Thursday. I think they're going to beat Minnesota.

I think they're going to beat Denver. I think they're going to lose to Philadelphia. and it's a coin flip on Dallas if they're healthy. That's four straight games against really physical fronts. But the thing about the NFL, since 1981 through six games, every Super Bowl winner has been above 500. So you're going to figure out Matt LaFleur and Interr Rogers, we're going to know through five weeks.

If they're two and three, this is not a Super Bowl team. I think it's going to work. I think it's fine. I think Matt LaFleur's response was funny. He's laughing at it. Like, you guys just got to get over the first. the audible thing. I think it's going to work, but it's not going to take very long.

I mean, the NFL schedules, like, for instance, the Cowboys' first three games are a bunch of nobody's. So Dallas could be three and no, you don't know anything about him. You're going to know everything about Green Bay in a month. October 10th, you'll know everything about Green Bay. Everything you need to know. And I think they're going to pass with flying colors. And with that, a guy, kid got a couple things right last week.

Let's not go crazy over it. Joel Klat is now joining us the voice of college football. A couple things right. pretty good on a couple things. A couple. How you doing, man? I'm doing great. Great. Joy, how are you?

I'm great. Good. So college football, the rankings came out today and all that stuff. Let's get to this, though. Jalen Hertz. In Oklahoma. I know you guys are all going crazy. Let me pump the brakes on this.

It's the Big 12. Slow down a little bit. Can't do that at the SEC. Can't do that against LSU. I mean, apparently you can't ask Georgia State and Wyoming and Memphis. They all are one and oh against the SEC. this week. But, I mean, to some degree, you're right. But what we saw on Sunday night from Lincoln

Riley, Jalen was great. I mean, we can, and we can fawn over Jaylen and in particular his mentality. I thought the interview after the game was fantastic. It shows you that this is not about just putting up numbers against Houston for him. He doesn't really care what his numbers are against Houston. He cares about getting to a play Nick Sabin and Alabama. That's the reason he's at Oklahoma and then I think all of us can't wait for that to potentially happen. Right. But I want to talk about Lincoln Riley. This guy, I don't want to go way overboard, but I was going back.

So I started yesterday and Monday. I was just going back through college football. And really even some degree, the NFL during my lifetime. So things that I've seen with my own eyes, I think he's the best offensive mind I've seen. I was trying to go back. I was trying to think of Spurrier and all these. He's doing things that are just next level with schematics, with matchups, with game plans, with putting people in the right position to succeed. This guy is a master, man. Three straight transfers. Listen, I bailed on Jalen Hertz. I didn't want him to throw the football.

Baker's a two-time walk-on. Kyler Murray was going to play baseball. He's made all of them instantly fantastic. Yes. Jalen Hertz is going to end up getting drafted. I think so. If he continues to play like this, I think you're exactly right. He really is too good of an athlete. He's running around.

By the way, so athletically, yes. Then you listen to him after games. What coach doesn't fall in love with that? Exactly. So the question is, can he throw? Well, all these Oklahoma guys, Lincoln Riley gets him for 45 minutes and they can all look like Johnny United us. And a lot of that is the scheme that they use.

He makes it, it's difficult enough. So it's interesting. How do I say this? it's complicated enough for the defense to look at that they don't know what's going on. And yet it's simple enough for the quarterback to work through to play fast. And this is the thing is that he got himself,

or excuse me, he got Jalen ready to play much faster than he got Kyler or Baker ready to play. Remember, Baker and Kyler were both in the program for a while before they played. No, Hertz, listen, there was a year ago. I didn't want Jaylon throwing the ball. He was a liability throwing a football. Nick Saban thought he couldn't win a national championship

with Jalen Hertz on the field. That's why he put two in the game. Think about that. And then that's the guy that comes out there. And I understand it's against Houston. But he threw the ball really well, really well. And I think this is going to be another offense that is going to be maybe not record setting. But it's also something that he's doing. He didn't run Baker and Kyler. Right. I mean, it was the run game for Oklahoma. But he didn't run those quarterbacks. He did something down in the red zone. I think we've got it. He runs this place. So this is kind of bread and butter Oklahoma. First of all, they run this counterplay, right? Where they're going to pull the right guard and right tackle around and they're going to give it to that running back. And then what they do off of that is they run a little bubble screen to the right. So this is an RPO.

Okay. So you're going to pull right guard, right tackle. Here it is. They come around. If the defensive end screams down, you can give it to the running back or you can throw that bubble out to the right. And then he puts this third option, which is the quarterback counter back into the counter blocking scheme.

So it's a – When I saw that, my mind was blown. So it's a design – It's a design play. That's right. It goes back. Everybody thought Robin Williams, the late comedian, was ad-libbing. No, he wasn't.

Robin Williams made you think he was ad-libbing. That's right. Robin Williams knew where every comedy set would start, middle and end. The brilliance to the great talk show hosts are you think it's ad-lib. That's right. This looks like an ad-lib. It's a design play. It's a design play even to the point where he takes one full step.

It's like commit to the right side before you stick your foot in the ground and get back to the left. And he forces defensive players to make a decision. I tell you, it's brilliant stuff. I think Lincoln Riley is one of the best coaches, offensive coaches I've ever seen. No, I don't disagree. I think, I said it yesterday. I've never seen this stuff. Okay, Notre Dame.

Listen, academically tough, middle of nowhere, private school, religious overtones. He won 13 last year, lost by Lester Clemson, then Bama. I'm watching him the other night. A lot of college football coaches, they can recruit, they're verbal, they own the room, they know a position, they don't adjust well. Brian Kelly's team was dog food in the first quarter. Yeah. Was unbelievable in the second half.

Yes. This guy can flat coach. Yes. I would say almost, I watched USC didn't adjust. Florida State didn't adjust. Oregon didn't adjust. Tennessee didn't adjust. Notre Dame's defense was completely different with the same kids one hour later.

Yeah, I totally agree. It was concerning what they were putting on. At first quarter, it was a mess. They didn't tackle well. They were giving up. I mean, up for the game, you look at the statistical. I think they gave up 240 plus yards rushing, 5.3 per carry. But it felt different once they started playing well, the adjustments.

Think of it this way. Let me point to a team that couldn't adjust last year, and it kept them out of their championship game and the playoff. Michigan. Yep. Michigan could not adjust last year when Ohio State started running those crossing routes and Michigan was just in man coverage. Guess what?

Michigan had no secondary pitch, and it cost them. They gave up 62 points in that game. Why don't guys like you tell everybody how great Brian Kelly is? Aren't we just doing that right now? No, I mean, I started the conversation. Oh, so are you taking credit for this? I think Brian Kelly's an excellent coach. I think he would be on the list.

If you were to create a list of five coaches that have not won a national championship that are the best coaches in the sport, he would absolutely be on that. Chris Peterson and him are my top two? Lincoln Riley would be my top. Okay, you're right, he's third. He had three of them. And then Brian Kelly would be right there. Well, even there, you sound like you're barely giving him credit.

No, I'd say he'd be right there. He'd be number two behind Lincoln Riley. What do you mean? I'm not getting him credit. It sounded like you qualified a bunch of stuff. I don't think I qualified it at all. Are you listening? I'm listening.

Look at the size of my ears. They are big. Nothing gets past these mudflash. That's true. Okay. So give me your, I got something else here. Oh, oh. Let's not go crazy on this.

The SEC had a couple of small bumps. Yep. I referenced in the middle of, yeah, you're right. Still the best conference. Well, hold on, hold on, hold on. It depends, right? If you're trying to drive the narrative that the SEC is a gauntlet, that eight-game conference schedule,

I would say that's not the case. I agree. Okay. If you're trying to say they're the best at the top, then I agree. I think those are two different conversations. Okay, that's fair. Because, yeah, you do have Wyoming beaten Missouri

and you've got Memphis beating Ole Miss, you've got Georgia State beating Tennessee. Yeah. I mean, to some degree, that's hilarious, right? Just because it's Tennessee. You had Arkansas only winning by seven over Portland State. So is that true? What?

Arkansas? Is that true? only one by seven over Portland State? I didn't hear about that one. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. 20 to 13. Oh, holy hell. SEC stinks. That's terrible. Well, I mean, listen, it's not a gauntlet, right?

So you can't tell me like, well, we don't have to play nine conference games because look at the strength of our league. That's false. What is not false, though, is the fact that this week they have a chance to do something pretty remarkable, Colin. Think about this just for the perspective of college football playoff and the perception of conferences. They already beat Miami. Florida beat Miami. Now they've beaten Oregon. Auburn beat Oregon. If LSU beats Texas, then that's three teams, Miami, Oregon, and Texas that would likely be in their conference championship games in those conferences, the ACC, the Pact 12 and the Big 12. And Florida, Auburn, and LSU likely won't be in the SEC championship game. That's probably going to be Alabama and Georgia.

So if you see LSU beat Texas this week, I think we are way down the road. going to see two teams from the SEC go to the playoffs. All right. Give me your top five right now. Joel Klatz's top five. Put that up there for the kids to see. Okay, I've got Clemson number one, Bama number two. I've got Georgia three, Oklahoma four, and then I've actually got Michigan at number five. I thought Ohio State look pretty good. I was concerned with Ohio State actually being in the booth.

I was concerned because the big plays were clearly missed assignments from FAU, clearly misdissigned, wide-open wide receivers. and after that they had an inability to throw the ball from the pocket, which I thought was concerning, in particular with the skill that they have at wide receiver. So Justin Fields has got to get better from throwing the ball from the pocket. He's fine outside of the pocket. And then once Lane Kiffin realized that they were running zone coverage and not man coverage,

the tied in Harrison Bryant from FAU really ate them up. So from the eight-minute mark of the first quarter on, FAUFAU actually outscored Ohio State 21-17 for three and a half quarters. that's concerning to me. So listen, I loved the 28-0-0-0-0-0-Fields looked really good early, but there was a lot of things that made me sit back in my chair Saturday night after watching that game think to myself, okay, they've got a lot of room for improvement.

All right, one more thing here. I don't even know if I'm going to do this because a lot of your, you know, you do a lot of these near-upset nonsense, and none of them are really upsets last year. What did you have us last week? Auburn, Oregon or some nonsense. I did. I thought.

By the way, I nailed that one. I did. I picked Auburn. You also stole Northwestern. It's not stealing. It's research. You stole it. Stealing is if I take from... All right, this week. I've got one heart pick. Okay, I'm not going to give you two, because one of them's nonsense.

Just do the one where you went to school and let the kids see what nonsense is. Colorado's beat Nebraska. That's not an upset. Yes, it is. They're not favored in the game. They're a dog. What are we talking about? If an underdog wins the game, what is it called? All together and upset. It's in Boulder.

secondhand pot smoke. Nebraska will be stoned by the second quarter. That's not an upset. So should we call these extreme upsets? Let's see the dramatic upset of the week. Like, are we qualifying? That's like saying if Gottlieb's late for the show, it's an upset. He's late every time he comes on.

If it's an almost upset, maybe it's like Texas A&M plays Clemson close but doesn't win? The second one. From now on new rules, 20 points spread or nothing? What do you want? Winners or a covering? Okay. Joe Clat, ladies and gentlemen. If you're a dog and you win, it's an upset.

It's an upset. At Colorado, field goal game. I'll take Colorado to win the game. By the way, they were one of the only teams in the country last week. No penalties, no turnovers. They look great. 52 points. They did.

They looked great last week. Mel Tucker, incredibly easy guy to root for. I don't want to get into it. That's true. He is. That's true. The easiest guy to win. The easiest guy to root for.

Just remember, the end for Nebraska stands for knowledge. What? It's just an old Colorado joke. Just let me step into the rivalry for one minute. Yeah. When you're about nine feet into that third bong, those are funny jokes. Okay, I got to take a break. We're in L.A. It's a herd.

The third bong. 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. 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 athletes 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. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th.

And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano. our podcast point game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get to fly. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball.

Like, 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. you get your podcasts. I didn't hear that Arkansas almost lost to Portland State. That took me back. Away luggage. Best I've ever had.

Go to awaytravel.com slash Colin. Awaytravel.com slash Colin, 20 bucks off. Frank Calliendo is going to be here before the end of the show. Bucky Brooks is stopping by today. We have Presser Cooker on the show today. Here's Joy Taylor with the news. No. No, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So the Cowboys finally got a deal done with Zeke, ensuring that he will be on the field for week one. and his return completes the Cowboys offense. Dak Prescott thinks this year's is the best he's ever had in Dallas. He said, I'd say this is probably the most talented offense I've been on, making some of these throws, watching guys on the back end of it,

catch balls and complete on deep balls or where it's contested. Then you come in and have a great running back who's shown a lot of greatness here early, knowing he's going to be your feature back and MVP candidate every year, definitely the most talented. He's right about that. Michael Gallup, by the way. Keep your eye, Michael Gallup. They drafted him last year, and, you know, offensive systems for running backs are easier than receivers. A lot of rookie-wide receivers, James Washington, Pittsburgh, takes him a year to get going.

Michael Gallup looks like he's a real player, too. Well, it would be interesting for Dallas's offense this year. I mean, I kind of felt that they were going to get this deal done with Zeke. I really didn't have a lot of fear of them dragging this into the regular season. But they have a new offensive coordinator this year. So you have to remember that. So there's an idea, at least, that they're going to open it up for DACA. a little bit more and be a little more creative

because that was kind of the purpose of changing offensive coordinators. I mean, they were 13 and 3 in his rookie season. Des was there. Then 9 and 7 they missed the playoffs. That was the year the Zeke was suspended, obviously. And then last year, they had Amari come and play in week nine. So this is the most

complete offense that he's had at least in the last two years. And you're in a situation where he has more experience. Obviously, you don't want to compare much to his rookie year. So yeah, this is a very exciting year for the Cowboys. I actually think that they are going to make the Super Bowl. Wow. So that's your

Super Bowl pick? Yeah, my Super Bowl pick is Chiefs Cowboys. Let me tell you something. It's on Fox. I would root for that. Yeah, it's partly my pick. Partly, I'm just going to say it until it happens because of that. If I told our bosses today, Patrick Mahomes and the Dallas Cowboys, our bosses this morning would go, all right, we'll take that. We'll see in January, late January.

That's a good one. That's the best case scenario. I think it is. Because I had nothing against the Patriots, but I do think there's a, and listen, I love them, but there's a fatigue with that. No. I want to see Mahomes and Annie Reid and Super Bowl. There's no question that there's a fatigue with the Patriots because the numbers reflected that.

To me, the only other team in the AFC that would draw the... Pitchburg. The least level of attention would be the Steelers. But I feel like it'll be the Chiefs Cowboys. So, speaking of those Patriots, the Patriots have been dealing with injuries and absences at wide receiver throughout camp,

and Bill Belichick knows that his receiving core would benefit from more reps to build their passing attack this season. I wish we could just wave a wand and all that would happen. Unfortunately, I don't really see how that would happen. So we'll have to do whatever pretty, you know, that's been here for a number of weeks has been doing, go out there and get the reps together, get our timing, and develop that consistency and continuity and confidence on the field.

I think they're going to... I know how to create that by just, like I said, wishing it or talking about it. You know, at some point you've got to go out there. and be able to execute it. I think they're going to be really choppy in the first couple weeks. But I do think Edelman and Josh Gordon and all those running backs, I mean, they can win all their games, but Edelman, Demarius Thomas, Chris Hogan, Gronk, Henry's not playing.

There's a lot of new stuff. It's a kind of interesting situation for the Patriots at Y Receiver. Obviously, Granc is not there. Edelman missed most of the summer with a thumb injury. Nikiel Harry is on IR with an ankle injury. DeMarius Thomas came back August 20th. obviously after recovering from Achilles' injury, so he's going to be, you know, taking it slow. And Josh Gordon was just reinstated up to suspension.

So, yes, everything that Belichick is saying there is accurate. It's a different year. Tom Brady likes to be in sync with his receivers to the point where he doesn't even have to say anything. That's why him and Edelman have had the relationship that they do, because there's not a lot of conversation that needs to be had there. Thankfully, their running backs are really good receivers. James White's ridiculous. So that's a great out.

But they don't really have a tight end, to be honest with you. They're not right. And the rebuild, the offensive line, they got a new center. And I just read a story this morning where they may be one of the teams to trade for Trent Williams at left tackle because they've experimented there. So I think their defense, by the way, is really talented. I really like their defense. And Belichick's a defensive guy. But I think the offense is going to be a work in progress.

I agree. Not that they're not going to still be the Patriots and figure it out. Finally, Sam Darnold is one of your favorites. He has one of the most high profile. NFL jobs quarterback for the Jets, and he's maintained a low-key persona, not quite in your bore four yet, although maybe he will replace luck in your bore four. I want to see one more, I want to see another year from him. I don't have, I think he's going to be great, but I can't put him on any list yet.

Well, he's impressed Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. Parcell said I know Sam a little bit. I like him. I think he's a tough guy. You know what I like about him? He's not ready to be a star. He just wants to play. That's very important. Half of them come into the league and they're ready to be a star,

but they're not ready to pay the price to be a quarter. Love that. I'm old school. I like it. Well, you know, some old school stuff's okay. I'm not an old school person for the most part. I like to think I'm an evolved old school. You're way more old school than you would admit.

Yes. Well, I mean, I'm from Pittsburgh. That's how we do things. But I will say there's something to this, though. Like Sam Darnold being boring. In New York? I kind of like. By the way.

Especially for the Jets. Eli Manning, like there's, you know, Mike Lombardi of former NFL executes do I say, you get to these port towns, Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans. There's a lot of good restaurants and a lot of nightlife. And you go to Kansas City, you know, 11 o'clock at night, it's harder for a player to get in trouble. There's something to be said about in New York.

I'd rather my quarterback like to go to bed early. I mean, if you look at some of the quarterbacks that have been successful, I mean, we talk about it all the time. Los Angeles is a place that's very hard to hide. even if you're trying to hide. And we never see golf anywhere. I never see Deshawn Watson. Never see him anywhere.

Andrew Locke. You never see. Breeze is a quiet guy. Russell Wilson. So I, it's not, it's just, I think the position is really hard and it takes a unique focus. And if you're an easily distracted person, I think it makes it harder on your job. It's not that you can't win games, but it does make you harder. And by the way, Joe Namath, don't use Joe Namath because today he'd get eaten alive.

He would. And to be clear, I love the big personality guys. I think the league is so much better when Cam Newton is playing at a high level. I love Baker and Cleveland. But Cam is in Carolina and Baker is in Cleveland's. Put him in New York. It does matter. Like there has to be some sort of balance to it at the quarterback position.

Far was a party guy in Atlanta. It's easy to party. Then he went to Green Bay. And Brett was a legend. Like they said, in Atlanta, Brett was a Southern boy out in Atlanta, beautiful women. Out every night. It was a problem for Brett Farb. They went to Green Bay and they have a holiday in lounge.

That's about it. That's why I think it's important that organizations have a real strict criteria for what works for their culture. That's right. Not just for the organization's culture, but for the city. Like the San Antonio is known for this. It's the Spurs way, the Patriots way. Those things do matter. They play a role in it.

Good stuff. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lide News. got a big contract, and there's a lot of critics of Jared Goff, and I like Jared Goff. There are moments for an athlete that are tipping points. I thought his game against Minnesota on television, on Fox, I thought his game against Kansas City.

Those were tipping point moments. Yes, Sean McVeigh is an excellent coach, but Joe Montana had Bill Walsh, Brady's got Belichick, Dan Fouts had Air Coriel, Troy Ackman had Jimmy Johnson, Terry Bradshaw had Chuck Knoll. I don't, none of these guys are great without a really smart coach. Yeah, Sean McBey is really smart. And Patrick Mahomes has Andy Reid, but we don't want to give Andy Reid any credit in Kansas City because Mahomes is so flashy and fun.

And the flashier the sports car, the less credit we give the driver. And when it comes to Breeze and it comes to Brady and it comes to golf, I mean, good God, we're still calling Tom Brady a system quarterback. They're all system quarterbacks. Mahomes went with Goff went toe to toe, and Goff beat him. And Goff went up against Minnesota and had perfect quarterback rating,

never been done with over 30 pass attempts. Gough did it. But the bottom line, the flashier, the quarterback, the less credit we give the coach. I'll give you an example of this. Mike Holmgren's a Hall of Fame level head coach. We gave him all the credit in Seattle with Matt Hasselbeck and none of the credit in Green Bay with Brett Forb.

You ask anybody about Mike Holmgren. They're like, he's one of the top 10 coaches of all time. Go look up Mike Holmgren's coaching tree. It's like next to Parcells. It's unbelievable. Holmgren got no credit for FAR. He got all the credit for Hasselbeck. He deserved, you know, 50% of credit for both of them.

So I think Doff's contract, he's worth it. I think he's smart. I think he's unique. I think he's Matt Ryan with better arm talent. And the idea that, well, it's Sean McVeigh, name me the quarterback that's got Super Bowl appearances, it just doesn't happen. Sean Peyton is not Sean Payton without,

excuse me, Drew Breeze is not Drew Breeze without Sean Peyton. And I love Troy Aikman. But if he'd have had Barry Switzer for the first four years and not Jimmy Johnson, I don't think he would have been Troy Aikman. And that's nothing against Barry Switzer. Barry took Jimmy's momentum and won a Super Bowl. But if Troy had Barry's momentum, it may have been too late. He may have been gone by the time Jimmy Johnson got there.

So I think golf's worth it. I think he's smart. I think he works hard. I think he's low key. He's got the right personality. I think he's got the size a little bigger than Matt Ryan and a better arm than Matt Ryan. And I think Matt Ryan's a top 10 guy. And the everything about Jared Goughf, I like, totally coachable.

It matters. Mahomes, coachable. Lockechable. Russ and Wilson, coachable. It matters. Sam Darnold, coachable. Garoppolo, coachable. You know, I've said this before about Cam.

Sometimes I think he's coachable. Jay Cutler, sometimes I think he was coachable. I think that's a big component. I think Goff's the real deal. All right, coming up next, Frank Caliendo stops by the world's best John Gurdon impersonation and more. That's coming up. Car shopping's confusing. Dealer price, list price, invoice.

Here's what it's not. Go to a dealer, save three grand off MSRP. New or are used. Doesn't matter. Truecar.com. Check out the true price inside Truecar. 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, 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 athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants

answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice 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. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliver Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker who hops up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

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

I'm Taboramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Polic. I'm not worried about Balligan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back.

The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here.

Experience it all with us. Listen to Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, wherever you get your podcast. We've got two good ones for you Saturday as one of cultural goals greatest rivalries is renewed when number 25 Nebraska battles Colorado at 3.30 Eastern on Fox. And later on FS1, it's a PAC-12. the opener for Cal and number 14, Washington at 1030 Eastern, 730 Pacific. Both games are also available on the Fox Sports app.

Frank Caliando, you know him for a lot of things. I think he got really national when you'd see him on Letterman the first time. It was John Madden. He's had a great career. He used to be on Fox NFL Sunday. His Gruden is spot on. My favorite actually is George W. Bush, which he'll do for me today because I think it's the funniest impersonation I've ever seen.

But he was in Arizona where he lives. The Raiders were in town. Gruden asked Calliando. to come in and do Gruden. Watch. Glenn on. Love you, man. We needed a quarterback on the team who had a lot of neck. We got a good guy for that, man. John Gruden. University of Dayton. I'd do this shit for free.

You know why? Because I love football. Knock on wood if you're with me. I watched something the other night. that impressed me tremendously. A guy by the name of Hunter Renfro. It's pretty spectacular, man. All right, let's bring him in. Frank Caliando, comedian impressionist,

Fox NFL Sunday for over a decade. Great seeing you. Yes, great to be here. So it's so ironic because I was watching some YouTube clips years ago on Letterman, and that was always a brutal show for any comedian. Yeah.

And you got, and I don't think I've ever heard a comedian outside of Norm MacDonald, get treated better on Letterman because they didn't treat all comedians. And Norm's the best, right? You know, just he didn't matter what he even said there, you know? He was just, hey, Joy, I didn't know you were so close over there. I only hear you for once in a while on the show, you know. But you ever, the thing about Norm McDonald's, he doesn't even have to talk about anything.

Like, he doesn't have to have, he, there are funny people that are funny because of what they say is funny and they say funny things or how they say it is funny. Norm McDonald's would be You ever go to the the grocery store And you go How's this guy that much of a genius? He's a big sports guy too No he's he's one of the comedic geniuses of my life

Yeah He's just brilliant I can pretty much do anything you know Hey Jerry Jones big day for Jerry Signed Zeke Yeah Yeah I've been watching the show So I've been catching out of yet

His analogies are what always get me We have a A certain amount of pie that we can divvy up. What we did was we found pies from future years and divvied up those pies and brought them to this year, kind of a back-to-the-fut-tub time machine kind of thing. And what we did is we divvied up that pie,

gave some pie to Zik and gave some pie to other players, so we will have enough pie. Well, we could have gone with cake. If we'd have had cake, cake does not have a hard outer layer. But pie does. Pie does. Now, by the way, Jerry likes to talk. So I would imagine, also the Texas Twang gives you

Yeah, there's something there. Listen, it makes it more memorable. Jerry, to me, talks more than any owner in sports. And we said this yesterday, there is no number two. No, he's the only owner that's more famous than everybody on the team. That's a good point. Think about that. Like, what other owner is anywhere near that?

Like you said, number one, no number two. But he's got commercials. What other, buy my pizza, eat my pizza? What are their own? You don't even know who they are. Now, you... That was almost you there. We don't even know who they are.

I don't... Do you do that? Like, at the beginning of the show, it's always funny. Ah! Do you do that when you introduce yourself? I do. I am Colin Cowherd, and this is my wife. What's so funny about that?

I don't think that's funny at all. You do a Jay Glazer. That's unbelievable. You know, that's one of the things. You come on here and you think you're going to get some midfinding internet information. Listen, on my way here, I actually worked out on my way to a workout. That's what we're going to work out. Dwayne the Rock Johnson.

You guys know Dwayne the Rock Johnson? It's not a big name as I am, but he's a pretty big guy. Pretty strong guy, a little bit taller than me. But we work out together, and I'm like, Dway, come out, put some more weight on there. I just got done, and he can't lift it. You're thinking about, hey, this guy's in Jumanji? Come on, man. Get another board game.

We're watching, sorry right now. Don't give me the finger. That's a point. Why are you going to slow me down? Do you know how hard I work? Do you have any idea how hard I work? Every day, I wake up four in the morning, take a nap, but then I get back up and I get phone calls. It's an incredible amount of phone calls.

People actually texting me about the phone calls I'm about to get. It's incredible stuff. Nobody works this hard. Right now, I'm actually sitting. It's hard to sit here because I'm just a ball of energy. And he man, the movie, I would have been a ram man. You ever see that guy? No.

Just run through a building. It's unbelievable. Now, there are guys that are hard to impersonate. I hear, and this one, I can't believe. Because I, like, again, Jay Glazer is got such. of personality. Cadence, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And then some guys, Jerry Jones and George W. Bush, Texas people can, you got to be careful

because they can sound the same. You do an Andrew Luck. Yeah. I'm so into Glazer right now. I've got to come back. Okay, come back. Gosh, Andrew Luck is kind of that thing where his teeth are kind of matching up. It's very, like, I'm struggling. I'm going back to me and I'm not even trying to do it. I just

got to text. Work more on the Andrew Luck. It's going to get there. So it's a teeth thing with luck. Yeah, because his teeth kind of just match up exactly where it is. So, yeah. It's pretty, it sounds like it. Yeah, it's tough because if I do a lot of stuff with energy, certain impressions are really good with the energy.

And some of them I get so worked up that my throat has to come back for it. So, but Andrew Luck is like a Muppet version of Wolverine from the X-Men. Like, you think the clause are going to come up, but then I want to just give you a big hug. That's pretty good. Now, when you first did John Madden, and again, that was, that gave you some profound notoriety. Madden initially didn't love it.

Yeah, you know, you go out there and people in sports are not used to being made fun of by people outside of sports. Like being mocked. Yeah, and I don't think of it like that. I like the people. Usually when people meet me, I met Madden at the Super Bowl in Dallas years ago, and I made his grandkids laugh. And when I made his grandkids laugh, it was like, I get it. No, this guy makes small children laugh. I mean, it's unbelievable.

But, like, people were telling me all the reasons he didn't like me. Like, he said in a sketch you killed him. I'm like, I don't remember doing anything like that. Well, no, no. I mean, I mean, John's affinity, John had kind of a circular, I think one of the funniest things was John's stuff always came down to a basic premise. And the simple presence was, that's what it's all about. That's what that's all about.

You mean, you're thinking of those things you do and the things you don't do in between those two things. I mean, that's pretty much. If you watch him on the season, the first episode of the season of Hard Knocks, he's just talking about the seven-man sled. I mean, you get up, you do the seven-man sled. You don't do a six-man slatter or an eight-man sled because, I mean, there's no reason to do that. Now, Gruden embraced it from the first second. I'm not sure.

I don't know. It was set up for him to get to know me better because the first time I met him, he's just making that. And that's what I know. This is what John looks like in the hallway at my former employer. Boy, what, man, it's tremendous right here. When I'm talking about tremendous, when you're looking at it, man. He's doing that. It's like he's always doing karaoke in his head and following the bouncing ball, that kind of thing.

But he's like, I go up to him and like, so you're the guy that does me, huh? I'm like, yeah, he's like, where are you from? And I looked up where he was from. So I said that. I was like, Sandusky, Ohio. He's like, really? I'm like, no, he's like, good because you were blowing my mind. Do you do, now, you do a lot of sports people, and that's what I know.

for and that's why you appear on sports shows. I imagine there's a handful of other celebrities, Hollywood stuff at all. Oh, I mean, there's quite a few. It's the weird ones that I really like. The Jeff Goldblum's very odd, very crazy. Why, why, why, why? You're pointing at me. I love Jeff Goldblum.

Yes, of course. It should be a guess. That would be incredible why Colin was right and why Colin was what wrong. That's very good. And I've had him on the show before. Oh, have you really? He's eccentric. He plays a piano bar and Los Phyllis. And there isn't

a piano there. How do you do that, huh? I played the piano once. It was, just stepped in it, you know? Ah, sounds like Calliando stepped in it right there because he didn't have a joke. Very good. I tell you what, man. I have no idea what's going on right now. Does anybody understand this? He's going from voice to voice. There's no jokes at this point. But at least he got back to me. That was the best part. The best part was me. And then it got off track for a little bit. It got a little bit less interesting. And now it's back to be an interesting. Thank goodness. Okay. Now, George W. Bush, the younger George. Yeah.

What was, and I, by the way, I think he's one of the most decent. If you told me there's two presidents in my lifetime that I think are just wonderful people, is Jimmy Carter and George Bush. Well, I like Obama too, but I can put my arms around him. I think they're nice people. I don't have to agree with their politics, but I like him as guys. So I would think he would like it, although your impersonation of him was kind of cutting. It was always silly.

I look at it as being silly. It was kind of that he didn't get what was going on, but a lot of times he was in the camera just not understanding what was happening. And that's just the, you know, that's, what are we talking about? That's just, that's what I always. I'll tell you what we're talking about. We're talking about how hard I work. Does anybody have any, any of you guys on here understand how hard I work?

I got up at 4 o'clock in the morning. Did I tell you that yet? Let's tell you six more times. I actually got up four times at 4 o'clock in the morning. That's 16 times. Multiplication. By the way, you should. By the way, I'm going to count backwards by threes from 100, 97, 97, 94, 91, 81, 86, 96,

man, I just 86 that one. I've been screwed it up, man. Those wide receivers got it tougher than you thought. Now, you don't do me, but years ago, you were in the Sherman Oak studio. That's where Jim Rome made prominence. That's where Jim's great career started. And now I don't know how Rome takes it, but I think it's a great compliment to Jimmy that you do a very funny Rommie. Probably a great impression to do right now.

Your show just got a lot better. How great is this? I'm getting ready to pause for no reason whatsoever. done how great was that incredible do not interrupt the pause is calling incredible i think you're excellent phenomenal i love your work arugula tell you what man arugula that's a great lettuce right there it is you know how hard i work i work i bring in the lettuce that's all

that's the stupidest thing i've ever heard me fred caliando great seeing you yeah yeah hour three outstanding 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 IHeart Radio app. Competing today takes tremendous toughness. MDrive from N.com, refine your prime, boost healthy testosterone, burn fat, give you that little stamina. Bucky Brooks doesn't need it. NFL defensive back. Second round of the bills, scouted in this league. Panthers and Ciacs built those rosters up. Now NFL Network rights

broadcast. We bring him on the show regularly NFL Networks, Bucky Brooks. So let's start with the Zique. You know, they can play with the numbers. Joey and I always talk about this in the NBA. They got so many loopholes. It's like a counting firm. The Larry Bird exception and all this, that. In the NFL, it's a hard cap, but you can still

play around with the years a little bit. So it doesn't look like Zeeke's deal will get in the way of other players. No, everyone. Like, they did a great job of signing him and I think everyone has to understand. They sign them to an extension rather and giving him a brand new deal.

So they tacked on six years to the existing terms of his deal. So he had two years remaining. They add six. So the final number, 103, you really divide that by eight, not by six or whatever. So for Zick, though, he gets to what he wanted. He gets 45 guaranteed. That's what's been reported. That puts him right in the ballpark with Todd Gurley.

If you do the 5 and 90, it puts him as the highest paid at his position, which is what he wanted. And for the Cowboys, they were able to kind of stretch it out. So it's not as big of a hit on their salary cap as it appears. And so the reason they're able to sign a Jalen Smith and again, DeMarcus Lawrence and Leo Collins is because they've stretched all these deals out to give them the salary cap flexibility to bring in the new contracts while keeping their players happy with the compensation. It is remarkable to me how much pushback I get on Jared Goff. There's been a couple of moments, tipping point moments. The Minnesota game, the Kansas City game, where he is simply spectacular.

I've always said I think he's Matt Ryan with a better arm talent. I think he's a tough kid. He got the, you know what, kicked out of him at Cal. I think he's got leadership qualities. I think he's coachable. And if McVeigh, who I think is a smart guy likes him, then I trust Sean McVey. You know, like at some point, Mike Shanahan, if he liked a running back, I trusted Mike Shanahan. Kyle Shanahan's good with quarterback. So, but there is a lot of pushback on Goff that he's just a system guy. 85% of the players in the league are system guys.

One of the overlooked or overlooked aspects of scouting is understanding this phrase. We talk about fit within a scheme. How does a player fit in the scheme that your team runs? That's how they should be valued on the draft board. Certain guys fit certain systems better than other systems. So Kalil Max rare, he could fit almost anywhere, Von Miller, but those are the exceptions. Those are the exceptions. most guys need to be in the right system that plays to their strengths.

It elevates their game. It allows them to play a certain way so they can be successful. The great evaluators are able to determine which guys fit certain systems and they bring them into that system. Years ago, when it was the Patriots and the Steelers only run into three, four, they had a monopoly on those outside linebacker types, from Vrabble to Chad Brown to the guys that played in those systems for years because they were the only guys looking for those guys that had those skills.

And so we can talk about Jerry Gough and what he can't do, but in Sean McVeigh's system, he's an outstanding player. It is a play action offense. It's an offense that runs the stretch, the boot, the movement passing game. They've added the fly sweep element to it, but everything is designed to really set Jerry Gough up. And so everyone can talk about, oh, I don't know if he's a $30 million quarterback, but we talked about it, and I've heard you talk about it here.

we really judge quarterbacks on whether they can get your team to the winner's circle. And everyone needs support. They all need players. Jerry Gough needs Todd Gurley and the weapons around them. But he's shown you if he has the weapons around him, he can win games. There's a value to that. You know, this will sound crazy. But I can make an argument.

The three most purely talented quarterbacks of my life were Farr of Marino and Aaron Rogers. And they have two Super Bowls is that sometimes this will sound crazy, but talent can get in the way. way of coachability. That Breeze, not a big arm, Brady, not a great athlete, golf, you know, not a thick guy that can take hits. I think Cam's harder to coach. Ben's harder to coach.

Aaron's harder to coach. There is something, and by the way, I love that Mahomes appears very coachable. But in your career scouting, is there ever moments when a guy is so talented, he's going to kind of do his own thing? Oh, I absolutely can attest to it. not only as a scout, but as a player, having played around guys they were so talented, Reggie White, Bruce Smith, having scouted Julius Peppers when we're at Carolina. Those guys can skip steps that other guys can't.

And so it's hard for them to rein it back in because they've always been able to just play on their high school college talents, yes. And so what typically happens, and I'll say Charles Wilson is the best example of this. I play with Charles Wilson when he was a rookie in Oakland and he was as talented a corner. as I'd ever seen. But at the time early in his career, he relied on his athleticism and his skills. And it wasn't until later that he really dug in and became a real fundamental player. And that allowed him as an older player to continue to make plays.

Because now when you have a game that's deeply rooted into fundamentals and then you get the experience in the seasoning, that's when the game becomes easy. Part of the reason why Tom Brady has a tough time thinking about leaving the game is because now the game is easy. He has all the answers. And so what you hope is that you play long enough where your athleticism carries you the first couple years, then your knowledge and your fundamentals allows you to build a long career. So you are right.

Coachability comes easier for those who aren't A-level talents. Maybe when you're a lesser talent, you have a more willing ear to listen to what coaches are telling. I totally, I absolutely agree with that. So I want to talk about Aaron Rogers, Matt LaFleur. So the Packers are on the road. Tomorrow night season starts with the. Bears. Green Bay's early schedule is the toughest in my opinion in the league in terms of

pass rushes. They face Philadelphia's. They face Denver. They face Chicago. They face Dallas. I mean, so they start at Chicago, Minnesota, Denver, Philadelphia, at Dallas. There are no breaks there. That leads me to believe we will figure out very quickly, Matt Lafleur, Aaron Rogers, work. You just don't have time in this league to go one and four, not in the NFC, not in that division. So do you think you'll have a sense with this schedule a month in what Green Bay is? Yeah, I think we get a sense

pretty early. But I think the relationship and this is particularly for every team. Trust and communication. Between Aaron Rogers and the head coach, they have to have trust in communication. Because if it goes sideways early in the year,

Aaron Rogers has to trust that Matt LaFleur is going to have the answers. And that will be something that we'll see on the sideline. The first couple times he may try and trust him, and if Matt LaFleur is not able to give the correct answers, Aaron Rogers may go back to doing what he's comfortable with, which is I'll answer everything,

I'll put everything on my shoulders, and I will figure it out. But if Matt LaFleur is able to show him, hey, this is what they're doing to us, here's how we're going to attack. And if it works, then Aaron Rogers is going to be really to buy in, and he's going to have Aaron Rogers' ear because he knows that my mom. my coach can provide answers, and that allows me to trust him and trust the plan that he puts in play.

You know, it's funny about this league. I want to talk about a team I'm interested in the New York Jets. So Adam Gase got fired. Pete Carroll did twice. Bill Belichick did. Andy Reid's been let go. It's almost like being a president. They all leave unpopular, right?

We like our presidents way more. Like four years later, we're like, you know, it wasn't a bad guy. But they all get gray and we don't like any of our presidents while they're there. Belichick's a rare exception that we basically complained about even the good coaches, right? In L.A. after the Super Bowl, McVeigh got worked. And I look at the Jets and Adam Gase and I think, okay, you had a winning record when Tannahill played. Darnold's better, more talented than Tannahill, Lavin Bell, Jameson Crowder. I think kind of an interesting special defense in places.

I think the Jets are going to work. I think they're a little bit the sleeping giant because Gace was fired and the feeling is, well, the guy can't coach, he has weird press conferences. Give me your feeling on what you see with the Jets. So here's what I will say that Adam Gase has done that has really helped him and I think it will set him up

to have success in New York. Adam Gase, by nature, is not necessarily a strong personality coach. Like, he's not one of those guys that when you see a Bill Belichick who has a forceful personality, Adam Gase doesn't come off like that. So when you're a guy that's not naturally an alpha guy, like that, you have to make sure that you have a couple guys on your coaching staff that can do it.

He has those guys on his coaching staff. Greg Williams. Greg Williams is one, but I would say Sean Jefferson, who is there with the wide receivers and as an offensive assistant. He is one. Frank Bush on the defensive side of the ball is another. Those guys, when it gets dicey in the locker room, when you hit a little turbulence,

those guys can rally the players. They can have those hard conversations with players that Adam Gates may not be comfortable having. if he is allowed to do what he does really well, build and craft an offense, get the quarterback going, find a way to generate points while Greg Williams and the other guys handled the defense, the Jets can have success. You know, Baker Mayfield's gotten a lot of publicity and deserves it. Sam Darnold, because it was a mess last year, hasn't. Josh Rosen feels like his career's almost over. Kyler Marine, Arizona. Joy and I both said, it will be a spectacular. attack it or washed. It will either be a tire fire or they'll be, give me your gut feeling on,

there is this college movement to the pros. Kyler's accurate. He's mobile. Their own lines liability age athletically. What do you think with Arizona we get? You know, this is, this would be funny, especially coming off the heels of watching Lincoln Riley elevate Jalen Hurst the other day. This will be something that could really open up the gateway to the college coaches coming into the NFL if Cliff Kingsbury is able to take Cala Murray, take that offense, and find a way to score points consistently in the National Football League. The college game is completely different, but players who can be elevated through creative scheming, owners can recognize that and they like that because this is such a player-driven

game and a quarterback-driven game. If you can find someone that can take quarterbacks and elevate them, those guys are in high demand. So for Cliff Kingsmen, It is all about Calamari. It is all about being on the same page and making sure this offensive system pops. They say that we haven't seen what they're going to do throughout time in the preseason. So when the regular season hits,

I'm just curious to see their version of the air rate. I know they're going to play fast. I know Calamary has a tremendous amount of control over the offense. It's just, can this offensive line protect? And how are they going to handle the blitzes that people throw at them? We've heard defensive coordinators. Old defensive coordinators talk about they don't have enough protections in the holster that they're going to find the protections and eat it up.

Cliff Kingsbury has to find a way to deal with the pressure. If he can deal with the pressure and the blitzes that people send at him and allow his quarterback to play, I think they would be able to score points. Bucky Brooks, NFL Network. Good seeing you. Thanks for having. You bet. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Melvin Gordon is seeking a trade from the Chargers, but the team has a pretty steep price for anyone who's interested, according to pro football talk. The Chargers won a first rounds and a fifth rounds being included in any trade package.

Let me ask, Bucky. Doesn't that seem like... They won't get that. They won't get that because he's in a different tier. Like Zeke, Todd Gurley, Levy and Bill, he's a tier two-play. He's a Nashville. Okay, so I said before,

I would consider if I had a lower pick in round two and I really had a hole. I think he feels like a lowered second round. I wouldn't give up a first round pick from November. Because he had injuries. He's had injuries. He's a really good player. Look, he scored touchdowns and done the thing,

but I just don't see him as the same kind of guy as Zeke and Levy. Because that sounds one and a five. The five to me is whatever. It's the first round pick that people are really going to be concerned about. To me, it's like we said earlier, where is that pick actually going to land? So if you are looking at a first rounder and it's a spot that you need, I personally don't believe in hoarding up draft picks.

And we've seen how many draft bus over the years. Like to me, I would rather go with a known commodity if I'm a situation with a young quarterback who's on a rookie deal and you have some space. And he's a good character guy. To me, that's a better move than arguing over a first or second round pick. It's funny. I bumped into him at an airport.

He really wants to play. Like he's not a guy that wants to sit. Like he likes foot. You go to Wisconsin to play football outdoors and carry the ball 6,000 times. This kid likes to play football. Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's any doubt that he wants to be out there. He just wants to be compensated. And all this talk about running backs, you know, as much as they're used and then replaced,

he wants to have some financial security, which is understandable. It's just the market isn't reflecting the need for him right now. But Albert Breer is reporting that only one team has proposed a trade for him, and that was the Eagles. And in that deal, Jordan Howard would go to L.A. and the teams would swap mid-round picks, and the Chargers said no to that deal. So he also, interestingly,

just followed the 49ers, Falcons, Eagles, and Raiders on Instagram if you want to make anything of that. So now we're in the NBA territory of seeing who they're following. That's funny, actually. But he wants around $13 million a year. So Philadelphia, who was the player Howard? Jordan Howard, yeah. Oh, no.

I mean, I saw the Ravens earlier. To me, that makes the most sense. a raven's trade. But again, the issue is not just the picks. They're also going to have to pay him because he's going to be a free agent. You're not going to do all that and make all those moves for a one-year situation. So Antonio Brown skipped a lot of training camp this year

while working through his helmet grievance, who was also out with the situation with his feet. But he received a letter from Raiders GM, Mike Mayock, informing him that the team has fined him for one of those practices and a missed walkthrough. And he posted a picture of the letter and explained his unhappiness with the fines by commenting, when your own team want to hate, but there's no stopping me now.

Devil is a lie. Everyone got to pay this year, so we're clear. Now, they don't do everything publicly. Somebody meet in a room and talk for five minutes. It seems a bit messy. Now, teams have to send letters informing players of fines, even if they don't intend on collecting them in order to reserve the right to enforce them in the future. So that's according to pro football talk, the Raiders have enforced fines and AB will need to pay. So they are enforcing this fine, whether it's a CBA fine or a Raiders fine.

It's kind of sounding more like it's a Raiders fine. They're finding $40,000 for a missed training camp on August 18th and $13,950 for a miss walkthrough in August 22nd. So John Gruden keeps saying he loves him, but that doesn't sound like Mike Mayak loves him. Well, remember, he's the one that came out and said you're either in or you're out. Remember he did that little press conference? Yeah, so Gruden is going to play good cop. Mike Mayok's. You know, Gruden's using Mayock.

Listen, I got to be in the locker room with these guys. I got to be some of these guys got to like me. Mayok doesn't care. He's upstairs in the room. That to me is not a good sign. Everybody needs to be on the same page. And Antonio Brown is your best player. He's the best player.

The offense is going to run through him. Like it's Antonio Brown. My thing is, obviously we don't know how this all went down. But it feels like maybe you have a conversation with him about it. And if on the Raiders, what are you doing collecting a fine? If you're publicly out there supporting him with the helmet situation, and then you're going to then find him. Like, there's no credibility there if you're a player, right?

Like, not that you feel that you're above being fined, but in this kind of situation, if you're going to back him publicly so strongly while he's going through this helmet grievance and then find him on the back end, it's kind of mixed messages there. So much work. It's a lot.

Finally, we're just discussing Kyler Murray. He's been impressive leading up to the NFL season. He's getting a lot of attention for his mobility, but his teammate running back. Chase Edmonds said his accuracy is getting overlooked. He said, obviously he's a dynamic quarterback. He can change the whole style of a team's offense when he scrambles. But I think it overshadows just how accurate he truly is and just how calm he's able to stay under pressure.

Or how he's so quickly able to just settle back and get an accurate throw going on. And Cliff Kingsbury also praised Murray saying, I've been around some pretty good ones and he's up there. And when you're talking about just touch an accuracy and quick release, consistently throwing a tight spiral. If he doesn't throw a spiral, it's like I look at him like, be good i mean he is a he was a baseball player so he his arm should not be an issue his accuracy what what position did he play in baseball was he shortstop second base something like that i mean a baseball player what was he left field outfield so i'm not his arm's not my issue i've always thought he looked like he throws a he throws a ball with a lot of velocity it's my my question with him

is is a little bit his size although i don't think anyone needs to overreact to it because he's always been the size so i i don't know why i don't know why Everyone started making it a big deal once he officially picked football because it's not like he was going to be a different height once he picked the NFL. To me, accuracy is always the biggest factor for the transition from college football into the NFL because you have to throw guys open as opposed to throwing to the open receiver. And accuracy is super important. Baker Mayfield, incredibly accurate. He was the most accurate college football player leaving college football. And Tyler Murray is not that far behind him in completion percentage.

It's a margin. So this is super important. I just think there's just a lot going on with Kyla Murray. I feel like I'm being pitched on him as opposed to watching it and being like, yeah, that I can see that. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah. There's, I think Arizona is the league's mystery. Right.

I don't know what I'm getting. It's like. And I'm not saying it's not going to work. I just completely reserved judgment so I see it. I don't know what I'm going to see. No. They always say styles make fights. It's like styles make Kyler Murray.

Like I have to watch. this fight for a couple rounds because I have no idea what I'm going to get. The preseason with them doesn't mean anything. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line News. By the way, Gronk did something yesterday. At least it came out yesterday.

It was on that shop thing, you know, LeBron show. And it was very interesting. He was talking about, you know, they were, they do politics. And they were talking about Brady and New England. And the players were kind of fascinated, listening to Gronk. Talk about the culture of New England. A lot of the program is based on mental toughness. So when I started feeling like,

trying to go out there and have that mental toughness, it's really tough to have that mental toughness. Is it a weakness to say that, hey, I don't feel good? Yeah, and it's like Kanye's and like, imagine going to football and walking guy. You guys take the his, I'm good. I can tell you this, you're not treated like a super superstar in that organization.

Nobody's treated like a superstar. Not even Brady. You think he's the superstar, not one single bit. You know, the longest running dynasties in American sports professionally, New England now 20 years, and if you go in terms of years, it was the San Antonio Spurs who won five titles in 15 years. And both the Spurs and the Patriots have one thing in common.

You need to get over yourself. Tom Brady's gotten over himself. Tim Duncan got over himself. Manu Genoblee could have been a starter in his prime for every other team in the league. he got over himself. It's my knock on Kevin Durant. I think Kevin's a good guy. I think Kevin's great.

Still hasn't gotten over himself. I said, if I told my wife, I'm leaving for New York, and she'd say more money? No. Better management? Uh-uh. Better coworkers? Uh-uh. Better ratings? No. Why? I want to be the man.

She'd grab a wooden spoon and beat me over the head with it. The bottom line for team sports, not individual net worth, is at some point, you've got to come to grips with Do I want to win or do I want to get rich? Do I want to be famous or do I want to be part of a collection? And Tom Brady is why the New England dynasty works. Belichick's a great coach.

But Tim Duncan is why the San Antonio dynasty work. Because Greg's not winning as much. And Bill didn't win in Cleveland. When your superstar can get over himself and not worry about stacks of money and being famous. And he really wants to win. And he's not worried about getting everything. that's when you have dynasties that last not five, not 10. They last 15 years.

I'm not saying it's the only way to be great. But Golden State's dynasty should be a third the way done. It really should be. I think Kevin Durant, it'll take time or regret it. Could be wrong, but I think he'll regret leaving that coach, that staff, that owner, those players, Steph Curry, even Draymond Green eventually. coming up I do my

I step into the presser cooker there's press conferences every week and I just wish people were more authentic and they were more honest and say what they really believe

presser cooker is coming up just got my aluminum carry on from away luggage best I've ever had go to awaytravel.com slash Colin put in the code Colin get $20 off when you enter it awaytravel.com One more herd

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Sleptember entire month, dedicated to rest and relaxation. Go to casper.com through September 9th. Terms and conditions apply, 10% off any purchase. Well, we do this once in a while. We call it the presser cooker, where there's press conferences held 30, 40, 50 of them a week. First of all, a lot of times people aren't prepared.

Second of all, nobody's really honest. And I've said this before. I wish people would go to these press conferences and be brutally authentic and brutally honest. It would sometimes, Joy, be painful. But you see a lot of messaging instead of just coming out and being brutally honest with us. And I think that's a missed opportunity for athletes and coaches and owners in GM to just tell people what they truly believe. But I think people have a hard time sometimes being frank and honest. So here we go to another version of presser cooker.

Every week we hear a lot of people yapping. Now, Colin's going to tell us what they should have said. It's time to step inside the presser cooker. All right, we start with Jerry Jones. After it was announced that Zieg would get a six-year $90 million extension, the Cowboys owner went on C&BC with high praise for Zique. Zeke has been arguably our best player. I'm not trying to be unfair to anybody else, but he's an incremental part

to our success. Okay, Jerry, tell us what you were really trying to say there. A reason, Joy, I said he's our best player is because I still have to negotiate with Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott. And when I go in those negotiations, I want them to know that I think they're not as good a player as Zeke. Because I'll tell you, Joe, I've been doing this a long time,

and I love pie, and there's only so many pieces of pie, and I got to make sure that I, daddy can keep more to pie and not give the kids all to pie. The best players get the most pie. Yeah. So, let's head over to the Packers. In an interview, Aaron Rogers said his relationship with a new head coach, Matt LaFleuror, is going swimmingly.

Here's the Packers quarterback. There's been a lot of great discussions, a lot of creativity on both sides. He's done some really, really smart things. He's not come in and said, hey, the past scheme was terrible. This is what we're going to run. It's been a good blending of some of things. they were really good at and then some of the great schemes that he's bringing to us from the places that he's been. Okay, Aaron Rogers, how do you really feel about your new head coach?

Have you guys seen me play? I'm not going to audible. Matt LaHoo? See that cowboy game? A couple years ago? Crazy throw? That was an audible. Let's get over the audible thing.

I'm Aaron Rogers. Kirk Cousins is allowed to audible. Mitch False Bisckey in Chicago can audible. I'm Aaron Rogers. I can't audible?

I am audible. Always with the humility, Aaron. All right. To Alabama, Nick Sabin was asked what he thought of Jalen Hertz's six touchdown debut with Oklahoma this past weekend. Hertz famously transferred away from Alabama

before the season. Here's what Hertz's former head coach had to say. I didn't see the game last night. We worked on Sunday nights, but I hear he played extremely well, did an outstanding job, and that doesn't surprise me in the least bit. All right, Nick.

What did you really want to say about Jalen Hertz? I like to wear a straw hat. Right now I'm going to take a little straw pole. If you were coached my football team, who you want, Tua or Jalen Roe? Jalen Hurts. Or Jalen Rose? You want Tua. That's a nice performance.

I watched all of it. it was a big 12th it was Houston they don't play any defense they might as well be in the big 12 I'm good with my guy more than that guy to and some Coca-Cola all right to the raiders last night on hard knocks John Gruden cut wide receiver keelan Doss who grew up in the area and has become one of the stars of the show Gruden responded to people who thought he shouldn't have been cut what was your storyline that was not my storyline so we're on the same page you know You know, he's a big story on the TV show, but that's not the reality that we saw on tape. Coach Gruden, are you saying Hard Knocks is misrepresenting what's really going on with the team?

It's HBO, man. Think about it for a second. You might watch something like the Kardashians. You ever see them? That's real. That's not something that's made up. Every single second of that. But you talk about HBO, man, that's fabricated stuff. You ever see a Game of Thrones, man?

Dragons? I'll tell you what, man. I'd love to ride a dragon. Just flying around saying crazy stuff. I'm pretty close to that right now, aren't I? I'm just missing the dragon, man. Hey, anybody noticed that when Colin put on that mustache, you look like Cliff Clavin from Cheers?

Veteran newsman John Goulet. Tell you what, man. I love that guy. Don't know what he does. but I love them. Back to you, Joy. Thank you, Coach Gruden. Very well done.

His Gruden is pretty good. This has been the Presser Cooker. Frank Calliano, that was our pressure. Your Gruden is strong. His is stronger. Does it hurt? I wonder, like, to hold the face like that.

Well, I think impressions, there's why there's one guy in the country that does them better than everybody else. Absolutely. There's a lot of comedians. Not a lot of guys doing those impersonations. As I told you, I used to do a couple when I was a kid, but I didn't do many of them. And mostly, it's hard to do them.

It's very hard to do them. I really, I really need Frank to work on a strong calling when he comes back. Let's not. I've never heard. What do you mean? You're, you're for all these impressions except for one for you? Well, I just don't, I don't think, and I'm not saying this like falsely humble. He just affirms everything he says.

I do. I just do. I told him that one time. I said, you just, you're, he said, my wife told me that. I'm like, yes, she does. She does. She just does. She said it. She did. I know. Joey, that's not funny at all. Goulet, that's not how I sound at all. So, by the way, thank you, Frank, and thank everybody who stopped by today. Joel Klatnik, right. Jane Slater was great. Bucky Brooks. She got Jane Slater stopped by in a pinch. So Zeeke has his new contract.

You know, again, I'll say this tomorrow. Tomorrow's the start of the NFL season. And we have the longest rivalry. I believe it's the longest rivalry in NFL history, Chicago Bears hosting the Green Bay Packers. tomorrow, Greg Jennings, Greg CoSell, our marquee three college picks. I'm going to go with Green Bay with an upset tomorrow. I know. It's crazy. I do think Chicago with Trubisky and Baltimore with Lamar Jackson, I think there's going to be a little pullback. I said this with Tim Tebow.

The first time you face Tebow, it was like, okay, it's a college offense. And I think Kyler Murray is going to have success because nobody's going to know quite what to do with him. But I think Chicago's going to pull back. I think Baltimore is going to pull back. I think they're going to be closer to eight and eight kind of football teams. I do think Chicago right now is a great coach, a great GM, and a terrific defense, and I think their defense will overwhelm average quarterbacks. But I'll say it again, the Packers were very smart here.

The last two years, they knew they had to pay Aaron. And all they did for the last two years was draft defense and going free agency and defense. Chicago's got the best defense, or Green Bay, Aaron Rogers has his best defense. maybe since the Super Bowl year. So Green Bay is going to win their division, and I think they end up playing in the NFC championship. Car Shopping is confusing, a lot of terms. Dealer price, list price, invoice.

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We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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

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