The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Growing Pains In Arizona

Episode Date: August 16, 2019

Colin gives his reason why he doesn’t like the Arizona Cardinals so far, why Colts fans should be worried about Andrew Luck, why Tom Brady is a great leader, and why James Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan. Guests include Urban Meyer, Tom Telesco, Eric Mangini, Peter King, and Jason McIntyre.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Very, very exciting. So, you know, I'm watching preseason stuff last night. And it's very easy to just discard everything from preseason, right? Like, it doesn't matter. Don't watch it. But be very careful about that. The coaches are watching. The coaches are making selections.

It's preseasoned. Bill Belichick will cut guys based on performances last night. It matters. These are pro football players. And you don't go crazy on it. You don't want to sound ridiculous as a sportscaster saying, this is great and this is terrible. But there are moments.

Dak Prescott blew everybody away in the preseason. I was a doubter. I'm like, oh, come on, give me a break. It mattered. It showed us who Dak Prescott was. He wasn't intimidated by the moment as the cowboy quarterback out of college. Victor Cruz, a wide receiver, undrafted out of you, had a great preseason.

He went on to lead the Giants the next three years in catches. Victor Cruz had an unbelievable preseason. So, you know, it matters. Coaches are making decisions on film of games. It matters. Here's what also matters. It's easy to spot bad. Arizona's bad.

Cliff Kingsbury looks over his head, and Kyler Murray is not throwing the ball down the field. And that game last night for Arizona, I don't care what you want to say. Oakland led 26-0-0. Oakland moved the ball at will. Oakland's defense doesn't offer much. Kyler Murray, running for his life, couldn't throw the ball accurately down the field. They have Vance Joseph, who bounced around the league, got fired in Denver.

Now he's the defensive coordinator. Obviously, the players are not aligned with what Vance Joseph's trying to do. Kyle or Murray looks small. Again, he has had five drives so far in the preseason. 33 yards, 13 yards, minus 6 yards, minus 10 yards. Now, I know he's young, and I know their offensive line is terrible. Josh Rosen had to be watching that, you know, with a little smirk. But remember, Arizona didn't just hire a college coach.

Arizona hired a super young college coach. They didn't just hire a college coach. They didn't just hire a college coach who struggled. They hired a college coach who had a terrible record at Texas Tech. Listen, it's hard to spot great in sports. It's easy to spot bad. Chuck Pagano, fake pun against New England. Oh, you got to fire him.

Markell Fultz, number one pick for the Sixers. Oh, crap, he can't shoot. He's a shooter. It is easy to spot bad in sports. Now, spotting very good and great can be difficult. There are a lot of players in the NFL and the NBA. They're late bloomers. They work in certain systems.

They don't work in other systems. I mean, nobody would deny that Tom Brady with Belichick is magic. Tom Brady with the bad coach may not be as magic. So spotting good and great, it can be difficult. You have to really watch. Some guys are good in certain systems. Some guys are good with certain coaches. Some guys are late bloomers physically, emotionally.

But bad's easy to spot. And Arizona right now is bad. That's the worst team I've seen in the preseason. They look disorganized, disjointed. The defense is a mess. Kyler Murray's not throwing the ball down the field. So I'm going to go out on a limb and have a strong opinion this morning about the preseason. The Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals will not win their division based on what I've seen in the preseason.

Okay. And in the NFL, by the way, is not forgiving. Okay. I just want you to think about this. Think about all the years Pete Carroll has been coaching in the NFL, position coach, coordinator, head coach. He gets to face Cliff Kingsbury twice. Think about the mismatch in knowledge, experience, personnel that Pete Carroll will have twice against Arizona and Cliff Kingsbury. And that's not a shot at Cliff.

I think Cliff's smart. But he had a losing record, like a bad record, 19 and 35 at Texas Tech. and you can say, well, it's Texas Tech. Yeah, Mike Leach coach there. He was great. Bowl game every year, winning record. So, listen, when your alma mater fires you, nobody's alma mater wants to fire him.

Cliff Kingsbury's alma mater fired him. Okay, they didn't want to do that. That's the last thing you ever want to do. But what I'm watching Arizona right now, you know, it's bad. Like you can't just say, well, it's a different offense. No, no, no, no, no, no. Nobody wants to look terrible in the preseason.

New England played Detroit in the preseason. And New England jumped out, boom, boom, drive, touchdown, drive, touchdown. New England this year has a young team, younger than last year. They'll have eight or nine players in the last two drafts who are getting substantial time. They want to leave a positive imprint on their players. They're going to take this stuff seriously. Tom Brady's yelling screaming at guys yesterday in practice. Don't tell me preseason doesn't matter at all.

Of course it does. It's where we saw Victor Cruz. Tony Romo, by the way, had a great preseason game. Goulet probably remembers this and people went, who the hell's Tony Romo? He's undrafted from Eastern Illinois. Remember that, John? Yeah, Parcells played in the entire game.

Didn't start the starter and didn't bring in a third stringer. Yeah, so it matters. Arizona looks bad. Disjoined it. In a division, by the way, where you've got Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, and Pete Carroll. They're pretty good. They're pretty good.

All right, I thought about this. And again, I want to shift gears, but I want to talk about something. Again, it's not big, but it's something with Aaron Rogers. Odell Beckham, hurt again. Odell Beckham's missed 16 of his last 32 games. He's hurt again. Not saying it's a major injury, but it's something. Aaron Rogers was supposed to play last night.

He had a tight back. He missed a start. Listen, he's had a concussion. He's had missed seven games with a broken collarbone. Then he missed nine games with a broken collarbone. He had a sprained MCL. You and I both know he was healthy in about seven games last year. You know, eight max.

It's not the end of the world. But I do think there are five quarterbacks in this league. Cam Newton, Jimmy Garoppolo, Carson Wentz, Andrew Luck and Aaron Rogers. And they're all very talented. Some more talented than others. Luck's more talented, I think, than Cam and Garapolo. Aaron could be more talented than all of them, except maybe Carlin. Carson wins. But of those five quarterbacks, ask yourself. Now, Marcus Moriota and Derek Carr have been

hurt too, but I'm not sure their teams are fully committed to them right now regardless. These are five quarterbacks, Aaron, Andrew, Cam, Carson, Jimmy. The teams are emotionally and financially, totally committed to these five arguable Hall of Famers. And ask yourself this. If any one of these during the season, including Aaron Rogers, suffered an injury. Those teams would have to consider drafting a quarterback high next year. And it sounds ridiculous, right? But Aaron's 35 had injuries. It's had an ad-lib style that can put him in the crosshairs of contact.

That sort of sounds like Brett Fav. Brett Fav was dinged up, though he played at about 35. He had an ad-lib style that sometimes put him in the crosshair of contact. Who did the Packers draft when Brett Farr was 35? Aaron Rogers. Listen, Green Bay has addressed all of their personnel issues in the last two years. They needed corners, linebackers, a center, and a tight end. They've drafted all of them.

And I think they've drafted well. I love the tight end from Texas A&N. I love the center they got from Mississippi State. So Green Bay has addressed their issues. Green Bay enters this season young at certain positions like Corner, young at certain positions like maybe Center. But they're not untalented. They're not the New York Jets that have a hole at Corner.

They're not the Texans that have a hole in their offensive line unit. Green Bay could absolutely next year in their first or second pick say, we're drafting a quarterback. I mean, what is Green Bay need? They went out and solved their linebacker issues. They got a free agent safety and drafted one. That was a hole no longer. They've addressed corner, center, tight end,

and they've always developed very smartly offensive and defensive linemen. So you think about this. In the NFL, you have to be proactive, not react to a disaster. This is why Bill Belichick for years, even when Tom Brady was in his prime, every other year he would draft a quarterback with a pretty good draft pick.

This is why the Rams last year, even though Todd Gurley is still a horse, they went and drafted with their second pick of running back. In fact, traded up to get him. This is why Carolina went out and got Will Greer. You know, Ron Rivera knows in the NFL, you can't react to disaster. you have to be proactive. Rogers, Luck, Cam, Wentz, Jimmy G. Those are the five guys.

Those organizations are fully financially and emotionally committed. An injury for any one of those guys. Are you going to tell me if Jimmy Garoppolo gets hurt in week six that Kyle Shanahan is not going to call his GM John Lynch, they're not going to have lunch sit down and go, Hey, we got to have a plan here. You know, Kyle Shanahan's like, this is my first NFL job. Okay, I'm not going into a season with C.J. Bethard and Nate Mullins playing eight games.

We got to go after another quarterback. Are you going to tell me Green Bay if Aaron Rogers gets hurt again? Mark Murphy's not sitting there thinking, hey, this is when we drafted Aaron to back up Brett Fav. We got to start thinking about this stuff. Carolina did it last year with Will Greer. And as much as I like Andrew Locke, Listen, if he misses their first two games to start the year and then in week 12 gets hurt again, you've got to draft a quarterback. The Colts have already addressed corner offensive line.

They've already addressed running back, linebacker, pass rusher. I'm not saying the Colts are great at everything or the Packers are great everywhere, but they don't have big holes in their organization, in their units, in their personnel. Now, as much as I like, Andrew Luck, if he gets banged up again mid-season, you've got to think about drafting another quarterback. That is just the truth. All right, good to have you in today. Yes, Sam Darnold was spectacular last night.

And I'm going to say something that may not sit well with the American media. But, John, I think you know, well, I am an American rabble rouser. And I know that's a 1974 word, 1954 perhaps, 1944 maybe. But I noticed something in the media, and I want to make sure I clarify my opinions on Baker and Sam Darnold. Donald was great again last night. What a shock. That's coming up.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the Internet. It's 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.

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

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

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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?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms.

This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey.

With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing?

Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Could you believe? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious.

Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You're lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It is great to have you.

on a Friday. Urban Meyer, Peter King, NFL GM, Tom Telesco will be stopping by today. Eric Mangini's got video tape that he loves. Oh, it was so much fun watching Sam Darnold last night. Sam Darnold was amazing. Smart's accuracy, athletic ability, instincts, three drives, nearly perfect. It was really impressive. You know I like Sam Darnold. But before I go into the craziness of Sam Darnold, And he, last night, between the Giants and the Falcons, he's just a tremendous player. You know, don't forget, he's bigger than Baker Mayfield. He's stronger than Baker Mayfield. He's more athletic than Baker Mayfield.

I mean, hell, he played linebacker in high school and basketball. And he's also, I think, more mature than Baker Mayfield. That's not to say Baker's not going to succeed in the NFL. Baker's going to have success in the NFL. But where you enter sports is not even. Sam Darnold played 20 less games in college. than Baker Mayfield. Sam Darnold's two years younger than

Baker Mayfield. Sam Darnold did not have great college coaches. His coordinator, T. Martin, got fired and his head coach Clay Hilton wins 10 games this year, or he gets fired. Baker Mayfield had Bob Stoops. Baker Mayfield had, in my opinion, the best offensive coach by a mile in college

football, Lincoln Riley. So he had, Baker had more starts, older, not good college coaching, great college coaching. he goes to Cleveland where he gets O'Dell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, David and Joku.

Those aren't good weapons. Those are amazing weapons. In fact, Cleveland's got so much damn talent, they could trade Duke Johnson. Because Duke Johnson wasn't going to play for Cleveland. They had so much talent. They traded an offensive lineman to the Giants, a really good offensive lineman,

an interior lineman. So Cleveland has a surplus of offensive talent for a guy that's two years older, had great college coaching. But in the media, nobody, I should say, very few of us have the courage to go against the grain and say, Darnold's better. He's not better now because he's younger, entered the league with nothing to work with, had to me average to below average college coaching. But Darnold now has a running back, an upgraded O line, an upgraded coach, a legitimate slot receiver. Now, the Jets aren't

perfect. You know, they've got a center that had to come out of retirement. They don't have a number one receiver. They're terrible at corner. They won't be a great football team. There's still a draft and a free agent signing period away from being really, really a playoff caliber team at the highest order. Cleveland could get there this year. Why? Because they've got more good players for Baker Mayfield. But I remember years ago, Shaq and Kobe, the Lakers made a choice, and they said, bye-bye, Shaq, we're going to keep Kobe. And I said it at the time. It was the right move. But it wouldn't feel like the right move for two years because Shaq went to a team willing to compete for a title. He went to De Wade in Miami.

And so for two years, everybody was like, you're wrong, Colin. Lakers are wrong. They chose the wrong guy. No, they chose the right guy. But the answer to every puzzle isn't solved immediately. Kobe, and I had this sourced at the highest levels of the Lakers front office, Kobe was a better practice player. Kobe was better with his body. Kobe was more committed.

Kobe was more focused. Copey had more great years left. And in the end, it was proven that Lakers made the right choice. But that doesn't work on social media. That doesn't work on Twitter. That doesn't work today. It's like, who's winning now? Who looks good now?

That's the future. No, it's not. Tyreek Evans won rookie of the year. Steph Curry was in the same class. Michael Carter Williams won rookie of the year. Janice and Victor Oladipo were in the same class. Now, I'm not insisting that Baker is Tyreek Evans or Victorola Depot. I think Baker is going to have a really, really nice career.

But if you're telling me, I've always said about quarterbacks. It's about 12 years. I don't give a rip about your rookie year. I don't even count Peyton Manning's rookie year. I don't care what it was. I don't care about Andrew Luck's rookie year. I don't care about any of these guys rookie years. What I care about is about midway point to your second year and on.

That'll tell me who you are. If you're not connecting middle of your second year, if you're not picking stuff up, like I don't think Kyle or Murray is going to star. I do think the Arizona situation is a mess, but I'm not going to totally judge Kyler Murray. I don't think all of it's his issue. He's got a bad D.C. The coach is a college coach.

But I'll say it again, and I don't care if it gets any blowback because I couldn't give a rip. I've spent 25 years not giving a rip what people think about my opinions. I've got him sourced. I believe it. I trust people, and I trust my instincts and eyes.

Sam Darnold, for 12 to 14 years, I'll take him over Baker. He just entered the league at a really bad point. Josh Rosen entered in a tough spot. Lamar Jackson entered Baltimore Ravens. I mean, the Baltimore Ravens over the last 10 years have a very good infrastructure. That allowed Lamar Jackson to look better than Josh Rosen first year by a mile. Who do I think those are better football?

Josh Rosen. I think if you put Josh Rosen in Baltimore and Lamar Jackson in Miami and Arizona, it wouldn't look the same. So my takeaway on all this stuff is nobody in the media ever wants to take blowback of my opinion. I'll take Sam Darnold. 12 to 14 years, size, athletic ability, durability, toughness, athletic ability, maturity over Baker. Not saying Baker won't work. But what I am saying is nobody's willing to just say, Darnold was number one on significantly more draft boards than Baker.

That is not disputable. Just not Cleveland's. Who also, for the record, drafted Johnny Moundsell in the first round, he was not even on most of the best team's draft boards. Veteran newsman John Goulet. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

Colin, last night we were supposed to finally see Aaron Rogers play and not audible in Matt LaFleur's new system. He's supposed to play an entire quarter, but just before the game, they decided to hold Rogers out for precautionary reasons. I guess he has a, his back tightened up. This means next Thursday. day against the Raiders will likely be our only shot to see him in the preseason.

I presumably he's not going to play week four. So we'll get to see how he looks in this new scheme. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talked about Rogers not taking any snaps yet. I think we'd like to see him, but you're talking about a veteran quarterback that's played a lot of football. I don't think it's necessarily, it's a necessity, but it's certainly something that we'd like to see. Any concern that Rogers, he's complained about the audible system, as we know. No, no, no. Any concern he's not taking any reps against real competition?

No, no. No, but I do think Odell Beckham being dinged up and Aaron being dinged up, it is the reality of their bodies now. Like you can't deny Odell Beckham's missed 16 of his last 32 games. You can't deny that Aaron is not big to begin with, tends to be a little bit of an ad liver, is taking some really serious collarbone injuries. Yes, I think this is the reality that Aaron Rogers,

and either way, this is the same thing for Andrew Luck. their physical realities now, they're rarely 100%. That's just the reality of Andrew Luck and Aaron Rogers. Aaron gets dinged up. Aaron is dinged up. Look at Aaron when you watch him in practice. He's not a big guy. He's not Carson Wentz.

Well, the fact that they are holding him out while he's learning a new system, doesn't that tell you that? Not that he was too injured to play, but obviously they're concerned that he could get hit again. And then obviously he tends to not break down, but he tends to get hurt. Aaron's going to win the division. Aaron's going to have a tremendous year. But you're being intellectually dishonest if you don't acknowledge what's going on with his body, Andrew Luck's body, Carson Wentz's body. By the way, Cam's body, Jimmy Garofalo's body, their organizations are one injury to any of those five guys from having a meeting privately upstairs. So when most of us go on vacation, especially to Mexico, we usually put on a few pounds after,

you know, drinking and eating everything in sight. Not Zeke. He's in Cabo, but according to Adam Schaefter, he is actually slimmed down while he's been down there, due 220. That's about 10 pounds later than he was earlier this offseason. Remember, somebody called him fat at one point, and he got on the scale and was like 2.30.

Looking pretty cut. I don't know if it's necessarily a great thing for a back with power to be losing weight, but whatever. Seems to be looking good. If they get a deal done with Zeke, do you have any concern? He can just pop in, whenever they get the deal done

and play that Sunday and be fine? Yeah, he doesn't, that doesn't bother. He's a young athlete. Running back is a position where you can play or you can't. He knows the cowboy offense overwhelmingly. I have zero concerns about that. The bigger concerns with Zeke is

if you give him a pile of money, does he go Antonio Brown? Does he go cuckoo for cocoa puffs and become incredibly difficult to manage? I think that's a very legitimate concern. To me, a part of this was the image, right? We talked about this before that while we understand he's not going to Cabo to party, it doesn't look great when your team is at camp and you're in Cabo.

This to me feels a little bit like he wants to remind everyone, hey, I'm not doing tequila shots down here. I'm working out and I'm saying trim kind of helping his public image. Yeah. By the way, it's, we all know this. Nobody disputes he's a great player. All this money talk always comes down to he's a great player. That's not the argument.

Right. It's two years before his contract is up, and he's had judicial issues every offseason. Those are the only issues, not that he's in shape and that he can play. Sure. And finally, another running back holding out is Melvin Gordon, and he is still not shown up, and apparently that is not going to end anytime soon. According to Adam Schaefter, no new deal is in sight. He said on Twitter last night,

Chargers of Melvin Gordon have not made progress towards a new deal per sources. Gordon still wants to return in time for the regular season, but he is prepared to sit out if no new deal is reached per source. So I ran into him in an airport. And we had a, and I, here's what's funny about this. Melvin Gordon told me what he wanted at the airport. Yep. I know I have talked to the Chargers front office.

I know what they offered him. It's not that far apart. Now, it may be in terms of guaranteed dollars, but in terms of what he is seeking per year and what the Chargers are offering are not that far apart. Now, I think the Chargers would like to. front load some of the money to protect themselves on the back end of a deal. They may have a year issue.

Somebody may want three years. They're offering two or, but the money per year is not that far off. Well, you talked to him recently in the airport. Great kid. Chargers GM, Tom Telesco, will be on the show in about 45 minutes. Maybe you can broker a deal between the two

of them. You can save the Chargers this year. You know, that's a really, you know, I like saving America as a general rule. That's a really good thought, John. a newsman, John Gulley. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News.

So this is a great, great teaching moment by Tom Brady. So I'm going to show you a piece of tape in about two minutes here. Remember, was it earlier this week, Greg, or was it last week when I said, I got great advice. A gentleman, my first job out of college, he was a former baseball coach. He was my first real boss. His name was Larry Kentop recently passed away. And he gave me great advice that I've used in my life. And he was talking about when he used to be a baseball coach,

if he had to deliver bad news to somebody or be critical of one of his players, he said he'd put his arm around him as he chewed him out, letting them know, I'm your guy, but I've got to deliver bad news. I've used that as a parent before when I talked to my son or my daughter, lovingly tell them I'm not really happy. But how stuff lands for young people, you know, you can bark. I'm an older guy. I can bark at somebody and think, yeah, they get it.

But it can be too devastating, too harsh, too intense. And so I've learned that through the years is if I have to deliver bad news, there is a more elegant sandpapered way, a little more refined way to deliver it. So remember when Baker Mayfield got in a little trouble, Duke Johnson said, you know, something about wanting more carries. Baker kind of called him out publicly, and then Brown teammates went and confronted Baker on this. This is how you do it.

Now, think about this. So New England's got some young receivers right now. Gromka's retired and Edelman's out with an injury. So Brady and Camp is dealing with all sorts of young guys. Nikiel Harry, the rookie, Broxton Barrios, who's a wide receiver, who they drafted last year out of the University of Miami. he's dealing with a lot of young guys in camp right now. So Gromx retired Edelman's out,

and Demarius Thomas, by the way, is still rehabbing his injury. So one veteran's out, two are hurt. So Tom could bark a little more at those guys. But he had Braxton Barrios in a practice yesterday, and Braxton Barrios missed an assignment. And Tom was asked about it after the practice, and I want you to listen to how,

carefully Tom Brady chooses his words and you can't see this on radio you will see it on TV how he is thinking about how this is going to land he's smiling when he delivers criticism

about Braxton Barrios so watch and listen carefully to a real master putting his arm around you as he kicks you in the arse Tom Brady I think so much is him expecting the ball to be a certain place and me expecting him to be a certain place. And I think the chemistry between a quarterback

and a receiver, a quarterback in a tight end is so important because, you know, it's all the anticipation. If you're waiting for things to happen in the NFL, you're too late. You know, you've got to just anticipate and expect them to be a certain way, and that's the way they turn out. And I have obviously a lot of experience, so I know where guys should be. So I'm trying to tell them, if you want the ball, this is where you've got to be, which is hopefully good learning for those guys, and it's good teaching for me. Hopefully it's good learning for them. It's good teaching for me.

You see that how he carefully constructs it. Very smart, very adult, not chewing out. What Tom's also saying is, I'll ghost you if you don't run the right route. That's what he does to Josh Gordon and to Randy Moss. Remember Josh Gordon was one of his favorite targets? Then he had some personal problems. They faced the Steelers, only two targets to Josh Gordon. Tom wants you to be fully committed, fully prepared, fully focused.

He'll ghost you in games. He won't throw to you. So yesterday in practice, a young guy made a mistake. But the way he delivers the message is adult, not accusatory, not too harsh. Probably barked at him during the practice. But then when the media asks about him, Baker Mayfield, take this as a subtle gesture of learning. Be playful. In fact, yesterday it was funny.

There was a Twitter moment for Brady as one of the new rookies for the Patriots went and tried to be Socrates on Twitter, Aristotle, and said, lowliness is young ambitions ladder, where to the climber, upward turns his face. But when he once attains the utmost round, he then unto the ladder turns his back, looks into the cloud, scorning the base degrees by which he did ascend. Julius Caesar, Act two, Scene 1, Shakespeare. Brady responded on Twitter, study your playbook. Playful, fun.

It's how you have to deliver messages when you're the quarterback, especially the young teammates. Put your arm around him when you're kicking their ass. It's called coaching. Brady doesn't want to coach, but it's really smart, and it's why he's the goat. Not snarky as certain quarterbacks can be in Green Bay, not above at all, not cocky, not provado, supportive during criticism.

Fun, likable during criticism. Urban Myers around the corner, Peter King, too, 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 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. 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 in 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.

get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Keer games 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 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave

at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Ray. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford 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 Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's great to have you, and we are absolutely packed today. Eric Mangini next hour, Peter King, Tom Telesco, to L.A. GM, they got a holdout situation with Melvin Gordon, who I ran into at the airport in Vegas about a week

ago. He's a great kid. I didn't think. I left it very encouraged, but I read this morning, they're not close. I'm discouraged. The college football season's right around the corner. We know who's going to be really good. It's a lot of the same teams. Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, I think Michigan will be very interesting on offense. Washington, watch out. And then there's one mystery team to me. And with that, I want to go to my friend Urban Meyer via the Coward Global Satellite Network, three national titles. The mystery team to meet coach is Texas. So they have a quarterback Sam Ellinger. I like him a lot. He's got some Tebow qualities. I don't know about the next level, but boy, he's a leader. Boy, he is tough. But here's what I don't know, coach. I look at the NFL draft, and I don't see a lot

of longhorns going high in the draft. So my question is, were they just playing on energy last year? how good is their personnel? Is it Clemson Bama? How do I tell? Colin, we talked about this briefly, and I actually had a long conversation with a great friend of mine, and you get these recruiting rankings, and the only rankings that really matter,

obviously one loss in championships won. However, the NFL keeps score for you. The NFL draft tells you how the recruiting rankings went, and when he told me that Texas had two draft picks last year, and Houston had four, that's very alarming. However, when you see what Tom Herman's done recruiting in the last couple of years, he loves the receiver. Colin Johnson. Ellinger is a stud, like you said.

He's a great leader. That's where it all starts. I'm picking Texas as one of the surprise teams of the year this year. Yeah, they beat Georgia, obviously, at the end of the year in a bowl game, but they were really highly motivated. I'm not sure Georgia was as motivated, so I don't want to overreact to that bowl game, but I did like what I see. I want to talk about Lincoln, Riley, and Oklahoma. You know, Coach, there were times your name was thrown out for NFL positions, but you have told me for years you're a college guy, not an NFL guy.

It never interested you. If it did, Belichick would have certainly hired you a thousand times, and you could have gotten a head job. But that wasn't your thing. Lincoln Riley's interesting. He's young. His offense looks like where the NFL's going. Do you think that temptation will be tough for Lincoln Riley to say no to over time?

I do, and I don't know Lincoln Riley very well, competed against him a couple times, have great respect for him, but the one thing that's changed in college football was recruiting calendar. And, you know, whether it's good or bad, that's still two to be determined. However, the livelihood and just personal life

of a college coach is nonstop. You have recruiting weekends now in May and June. You know, you're rarely around your players, July's your time off, and then you're back at it. So, you know, I've heard this from other coaches that it's very appealing now, just the calendar and lifestyle of an NFL coach versus a college coach.

I've had coaches of my own going on to the NFL and said, Coach, you ought to check this out because it's all football. You're not dealing with the day-to-day grind because recruiting right now is 24-7. At places like Oklahoma, Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, you're all on the same players. Can you know those other coaches are great recruiters?

You have to put in the time and effort of your program gets very bad quickly. So once again, I don't. I don't have, I don't know Lincoln. I just know the lifestyle of the NFL coach right now is different than that at college. We were talking about during the break, there's some really good NFL quarterbacks, but they've sustained injuries and they tend to be guys who can move a little bit. Carson Wentz, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, who are very mobile.

When you had a college system, you preferred pocket guys, but you like pocket guys who could move a little bit, maybe movement over mobility. It's funny about Oklahoma because, you know, Jalen Hertz, even Baker has got his capability. I worry about that with Oklahoma. I look at that offense and I think, man, that is a lot of vulnerability for quarterbacks running around. Do you think college coaches now are struggling with this, that the game's about space, and that puts your quarterback in really tough situations, would you still today prefer pocket over mobile. I think what's happened and I can speak to my time and right now what Ohio State's going

through, what I imagine Oklahoma is going through without really talking to them is the quarterback that can run is the equalizer. It's just talking about equate numbers. They don't account for. So the quarterback run for years was the equalizer. The quarterback that can escape a sack and get the 20, 25-yard run. Everybody wants that. The quarterback that sits like a tree in the pocket, unless they're the Tom Brady's or incredible accurate quarterbacks, you love to play against those guys, the guys that can move. However, with the transfer portal, with players leaving, your backup leaving, you know, Joe Burrow leaves Ohio State,

he becomes a starter at LSU, you have Jalen Hertz, you have Brandon Winbush, these quarterbacks just leave. Now, this leaves, that's great for them, but it leaves a real issue as a backup at the school. So how often you want your quarterback get hit? And you have Jalen Hertz. Obviously, I don't know if they named them the starter. We're not sure who's behind them.

I know at Ohio State. You have Justin Fields. Do they feel good about who's behind them? If they don't, that puts a coach in a very precarious situation about how often you want to run him and get him hit. Oh, by the way, I watched Dwayne Haskins now in the first couple of weeks. And I think both of us agreed. I think he's going to work in the NFL, but I hope they don't overwhelm him early.

I do think he's a guy that's got a high ceiling, but it's going to take time. Some guys are more ready to play early. So I watched him this past week. He delivered a couple really nice strikes down the field. First week, he looked a little overwhelmed. It looks like Coach Duane Haskins may be forced to play as a rookie. So tell a Redskin fan watching today. Is he a quick learner?

What is his strength? What could he do immediately, in your opinion, at the pro level? Well, Dwayne Haskins is the most accurate pastor I've had, and that includes Alex Smith and some other great players I've had. He only played one year. However, his accuracy, his arm strength, they're all NFL style. So much of the quarterback playing, now, if I remember when Alex Smith first got picked by the Redskins,

and up to that point, it was one of the best players I've ever seen, and he really struggled. But he struggled because the 49ers are bad on both sides of the ball. They didn't surround him with good players, and yet it became Alex Smith's issue that he wasn't a good NFL quarterback. This is going to be key, who's going to be, which is obvious, but who's going to be around Duane Haskins? If they put him with a very talented guy, I'm telling you, he's good enough to get the ball there. And as far as a quick learner, he's a brilliant guy. You know, last year he's barely touched, and it wasn't because, you know, because people blitz you, obviously.

His ability to identify the defense, flip the protection, to get the blitz picked up was about as good as we've been around. So learns quick, incredibly accurate, great arm strength. The question is what's surrounding it? What kind of players are surrounding them? Well, I watched this past week against Cincinnati, and we're watching video as we talk to you here. He gets rid of the ball. He was very exciting. I mean, it was like I watched him and I thought, okay, this is the guy I want to see. So, okay, finally now. So here we go. We're getting ready for college football. You've looked at all the conferences. We've done SEC, Big 10, we've done Big 12, today. You'll do PAC 12 later. Is there a team you have seen, we got about a minute left, a team

you have seen in any of these conferences that you look at on tape and you think, Colin, this is a top 10 team that's not getting loved. You've seen any of those yet? The one that I spent a lot of time with Joe Burrow, he came home, and I know they're a top 10 team, but they're not getting, because of Alabama and Georgia, they're not getting quite the attention that maybe I think they're due. and Joe Burrow loves his team at LSU, loves his coaching staff. They've hired a couple new coaches on offense that really made an impact.

Joe Burrow is a returning quarterback. That's the school. That LSU, I remember when I was in SEC, that's the one team you really didn't want to see. That's a good-looking team. They always recruit well. When they come out of the tunnel down in Baton Rouge or whether you play them at home,

that was the one team that we would always say that's the best-looking team in college football. And I think they're right there again. So obviously the big stumble, They have to go to two Tuscaloosa. They have a returning quarterback who is a flat stud, tough guy and great leader. And that's the ones. I know they're not, they are in the top 10 of most polls.

But keep an eye on LSU. I really like that quarterback. And I think I'm hearing great things from him about their team. Urban great. Seeing you. We'll talk soon. Thank you so much, coach. Thank you, Colin.

You bet big noon kickoff Saturday, 11 Eastern, debut Saturday, August 31st. We're getting close, fellas. We are getting close. We've got a couple weeks now. Very, very excited. Tom Telesco, Chargers, GM, and Eric Mangini, Peter King, Jason McIntyre all stopped by today. But you know, I'm watching this preseason stuff, and we're talking about Dwayne Haskins is, you know, it's funny because Kyler Murray is so, you know, interesting. And Cliff Kingsbury and Arizona and he runs around.

But you watch Dwayne Haskins and you're like, oh, yeah. That guy's a giant. That guy's got a huge arm. And now Urban's like, he learns everything super quick. So, you know, I will say this is the one thing about five years ago that close. And this is just not me rambling. This is factual.

Even as recently as five to six years ago, first round quarterbacks were a 50-50 split, bust or make it. folks, Paxton Lynch in the last six years is one of the only not going to be a starter, not going to be a franchise quarterback. All these college guys, all of them,

looked like the way the college game now looks like the NFL, I'm watching Duane Haskins and I'm like, oh, no, no, no, no. No, do I think I'd rather have him sit? Oh, absolutely. But I got to tell you, these college guys can play,

and they can play early and they can win some games early. I mean, you know, your eyes aren't lying. Hour two coming up Friday, live in L.A. 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. 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, 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. suit of the thing. We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're

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

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me. Kier Gains 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 with 42. Hey, Brett. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the Hipsons High School. Absolutely. a redacted amount of years later.

We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey with all the snacks and drink. Sidebar.

Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just take it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album?

I would. I would buy it. Cutts through the defense like a hot, nice. through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict.

You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, it's our two.

We are live in Los Angeles. This is the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. We're on iHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. I hope you are wrapping up your summer and having a great time. I know I am? You know how they say you should never eat before you go to bed? And that's what nutritionists say, and, you know, people, dietitians say you should never eat before you go to bed. Many people say that.

But many people are stupid. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right before bed last night, and I'm going to tell you, something. It was one of the best decisions I've made as an adult. It was gigantic. It looked like a plate of French toast. I literally last night had little jars of, not sheep, little jars of peanut butter jumping over a fence. It was the greatest decision I've made as a man, besides marrying my wife in years. I don't care what nutritionists say. Eat right before bed, especially a delicious toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You're done. You're done. dietitian is wrong.

It is delicious and you'll live a lot longer. I'm going to live to be 90 today. I swear to God, I got so much protein in me right now. I'm flying. I'm at 33,000 feet. So here we go. We're getting very close to an NFL season, a couple of weeks out.

And I think, you know, one of my favorite things to do, Goulet, you know this. I like to predict every year two really good teams that go into the tank and take two teams that were awful that double their wins. And I'm pretty good at it. And so it's interesting because I think this is the easiest year

in terms of finding two bad teams that are going to double their wins. I think this is the easiest year I ever remember. San Francisco and the Jets. San Francisco was 4 and 12. I think they turn out to be a 9 and 7 football team. The Jets were 4 and 12. I think they're going to be somewhere in the Jets. the eight and eight football team.

But what's interesting, one AFC, one NFC, they're actually the same team. Now, first of all, let's talk schedule. They both got a scheduling break. So if San Francisco's sixth toughest out-of-division games,

they got a break. Five are at home. Pittsburgh at home, Cleveland at home, Carolina at home, Green Bay at home, Atlanta at home. Only at Orleans. So five of their six toughest games out of division, they got them all at home. Big break, traveling all the way for those teams west. The Jets similarly got a scheduling break. They never travel west. The furthest trip west all year for the Jets is at Cincinnati. Their road games are all eastern time zone at New England, at Philly, at Miami, at Jacksonville, at Washington, at

Washington, at Baltimore, at Buffalo. They're all in the same time zone. They'll be the most, they have the least travel of any NFL team in like a decade. They got a scheduling break. Both also have the same key problem. They're lousy

at corner, and they're having to depend on Richard Sherman, the old veteran in San Francisco, or Trumane Johnson, who's currently hurt for the Jets. Both have intense young, offensive minded head coaches. San Francisco's big problem last year, they couldn't take the ball away. They

were so bad at corner. Only seven takeaways lowest ever. Jets problem, they don't take the ball away. They don't get interceptions from their corners. Both went out and bought a running back. Both San Francisco and the Jets are built defensively up front with their D-line. Both are in a division with a Super Bowl team, Rams and the Niners, and both have a wide receiving court that's talented. but don't really have a true number one. I think both teams have athletic young quarterbacks who, if they can stay upright in front of improved offensive lines, though neither is elite, San Francisco goes 4 and 12 to 9 and 7, and the Jets go 4 and 12 to around 8 and 8, 7 and 9 or 8. All right, so I saw this yesterday. You know I love NFL scouts.

I love talking to them. You love using them as sources. I would be a scout if I qualified. I'd be a scout if I could someday. I love scouting. I love recruiting. I love that stuff. So a scout came out, a long time NFL scout came out,

and said he believes that Carson went to the Eagles is Patrick Mahomes. these are, in the new era of the NFL, these are the next two great quarterback talents. And I agree to a point. I think there's a way to even extend the argument. There's a lot of good young quarterbacks, and more so than ever, they're mostly working very early in the NFL. Since the 2012 draft, I think all the way to net, all the way to the 2021 draft, there are four quarterbacks to me that just look different. 2012 Andrew Luck, Carson Wentz, Patrick Mahomes, and Trevor Lawrence, the true sophomore at Clemson.

They will be different. They're the big four. They are A plus. size, arm, athletic ability, confidence, the whip, the it. Those are the four. Now, by the way, Deshawn Watson's very talented, but he is not a elegant, natural thrower. Sam Darnold, who played a little linebacker in high school, is talented.

But Sam Darnold doesn't have the natural throwing motion and gifts of Luck, Wentz, Mahomes, and Lawrence. Baker Mayfield's really talented. but he's 5-11 and a half and a two-time walk-on. Jared Goff is a beautiful long ball thrower, but there are size and athletic concerns, and Russell Wilson, again, is an all-time great, but he didn't really develop into a great thrower of the football

until several years in the league. The four guys into me, the A-plus guys, are Luck, Wentz, Mahomes, and Lawrence. Now, by the way, it's not linear in the NFL. Wence has been beat up and hurt. Andrew Luck entered the league as overwhelmed physically and still won 11 games. And let me talk about luck here. As much as I like Russell Wilson, he entered the league with a Hall of Fame coach

in a great defense, Marshawn Lynch. As much as I like Sam Darnold, Deshawn Watson, or think Baker is talented, Andrew Luck inherited, a coach that got fired, a GM that was over his head, the worst offensive line in football and no running game. And when 11 and 5, 11 and 5 and 11 and 5, Baker Mayfield, with those limited assets, Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson, and Deshawn Watson would not have been able to carry a team into the playoffs

with those roadblocks. And that's the difference between Mahomes, Wence, Luck, and I believe Trevor Lawrence. they will be able to overcome a bad coach, overcome an incompetent GM, overcome an atrocious offensive line. Now you're saying, well, Deshaun Watson, he is off at,

Deshawn Watson entered the league with Bill O'Brien, who is considered a very, very smart offensive coach. It's also got D'Andre Hopkins. He's also, again, let's not go crazy on what he's done in the NFL so far. He's a very talented guy. He's not changing the league. Andrew Luck got to an AFC champion, with a mess, with a mess.

Now, they were ultimately crushed by New England in Foxborough. But I do think that Wence is in that class with Mahomes. I also think luck is, and I also think Trevor Lawrence will be. It's nothing against Tua, Jake Fromm at Georgia, Justin Herbert at Oregon. There's nothing against these guys. But there are these unique A-plus guys where you get size, you get athletic ability, you get highly functioning IQ. You get just a whip.

When you watch Trevor Lawrence at Clemson throw the ball, folks, it's just you can't. I saw him play in high school live in San Diego at a camp. He looked like an NFL player. I mean, I'm not joking when I say that. Like LeBron James last year in high school looked like an NBA player. Kobe Bryant last year in high school, Tim Legler, a friend of mine said it, I thought he was an NBA player. Trevor Lawrence as a high schooler, you're like, oh, he'd be a great college player. He's 17 years old.

he threw the ball like an NFL player. He was 17 when I saw him in San Diego to football camp. So they're, the NFL about, they give you one of these guys about every third year. I mean, that's since 2012 to the 2021 draft, there's going to be four guys to me that are different.

And that is over the course of eight, nine, like nine, ten years, you get four. But every two and a half years, the NFL give you one. Luck, Wentz, Mahomes, Lawrence. That's it for me, so I agree with the scout. All right, we're going to go to the Chargers camp, Tom Telesco, the GM. They got a holdout situation.

Zeke's the one that's getting all the publicity. Chargers have their own issue there. We'll talk about that coming up. Don't go anywhere. Also, Eric Mangini, later this hour, Peter King, Jason McIntyre. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed the game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

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

I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. 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 Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Quarterback on office, blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms.

So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider.

This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here?

Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I wish. Could you believe? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake.

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

Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Football is back on Fox with a preseason clash between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks and Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. It all kicks off Sunday at 8 Eastern on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Seahawks had some very interesting draft picks. I want to see how some of these guys for the Seahawks, D.K. Metcalf, the receiver for Ole Miss. I'm interested to see how it works with. He's big. Yeah, he'll win like a wide receiver weightlifting combo drill.

I'll see how he works. Listen, Doug Baldwin, nobody thought, I mean, look what he did with Russell Wilson. So, I mean, a lot of these wide receivers, they appear from out of nowhere undrafted, and they're stars. I mean, who knows? It's a wide open game. It's one of my favorite times of the year. A lot of these teams are holding joint practices, and the Chargers are the last couple of days with the New Orleans Saints. And joining us now, the youngest GM in Chargers history, Tom Telesco, one of the smart guys in this league via the Coward Global Satellite Network.

All right, so first of all, joint practices. Tom, your idea, the coach's idea, who makes the call, and does your team like them? Well, I know I enjoy them. Yes, myself and Anthony, we had talked about it, and we've done this for the last couple years. We worked with the Rams last week for two days with Sean McVeigh and his staff, and we're working with Sean Payton and the Saints today, worked with them yesterday, and we get a lot out of it. I mean, it's a controlled environment.

You know, the tempo is just a little bit higher and better, more intense than a regular practice against ourselves, but still a little bit less than a live game. And we can work on certain situations specifically in these practices that may or may not come up in a preseason game, especially with your ones, since your ones don't play a lot in the preseason. So there's certain situations we can work against. It's good work. But I think the big thing, it has to be with the right people. And working with the Saints and then working with the Rams, really good teams. Our practices have been tough. They've been physical. But there's been no fights. I mean, there's nothing that I hate worse than having fights in the practice field. And you can be tough

and physical and be disciplined at the same time. So that's what we've seen here and we expect the same thing today. You know, Tom, it's easy for everybody to say that, you know, preseason doesn't matter, but you guys are pouring over film every day. There's a reason you're having joint practices. You're going to make very big decisions on this roster. What's something? Tell me something that you do get out of preseason and why you would argue that you do need

three or four preseason games in this league. Well, you do need some preseason games. because a lot of it is you're evaluating individual players. You're not so much evaluating your team. You're not evaluating your team run game, your team pass game, your team coverages. If you're looking at individual players or individual matchups and try and get a feel for them how they fit into your scheme moving into the year and how they fit into the 53-man roster.

But for a lot of positions, you talk about running backs and linebackers and safeties. I mean, you need to have some live tackling that has to be done. And you see that in the preseason games. Now, I'm not so sure we need four anymore. I used to believe that we need all four from our foreign office perspective to evaluate our players. I've come off that a little bit. I think we'd be fine with three, especially when you have combined practices with different people. But there still is that need to get out and get some live work before our preseason starts,

or before the regular season starts, excuse me. You know, Tom, it's interesting. We were saying this is that in the NFL, you want to be proactive to avoid a disaster, not reactive. Belichick, even in Tom Brady's Prime, would draft a quarterback every couple years. years with a decent draft pick. Philip Rivers does not get hurt and I think he's got two or three good years left. But you have built a roster that doesn't have a lot of holes in it. You could certainly, with a first or second, maybe a second pick, consider taking a very

talented college quarterback. Are you getting into that space, Tom, where you've got to sit down with Philip and say, hey, don't be offended, Philip, but we are getting to a point. We don't have a lot of needs on this roster, and we have to protect ourselves. Have you had that discussion yet? Yes. I don't know if I went as far as saying we don't have a lot of needs on our roster. I wouldn't go that far. But no, we've had that discussion with him.

And look, internally in the building, it's not something we've ignored. We've been proactive with making sure we know every quarterback coming out in the draft. Because we know, like, Philip is, these are our leaders, a quarterback is a quarterback. This year, he'll be our quarterback next year and maybe even longer. But we do have to have a plan in place for the long-term future. So it's something we've worked on. There's no doubt about that. We just haven't found the right quarterback at the right place for us yet.

And we've been lucky enough to not to force that pick. That's what we don't want to do is force that. But now it's something really since I arrived here six years ago. It's something that's been on the front of our minds with every draft. And for agency as well, but certainly in the draft is something that we're looking at. We want to be proactive with that. I don't want to have a gap between Philip and whoever the next player is. But that's something that we're always working through.

Okay, so I ran into Melvin Gordon at the airport about five days ago. and he's a great kid and he wants to play. And in the end, though, it's a situation where running backs, analytics, even he knows it. It's not a position now that plays for 15 years in this league. I thought after talking to him, it felt like there's some common ground. I read Twitter today and NFL reporters. They're like, no, they're miles apart. Can you give me some clarity?

Do you feel closer or further than two weeks ago with Melvin? Oh, since the last time you've talked about the airport? Let's see. I don't know if I have it's hard to characterize where exactly we are and I wouldn't even try to get into that. But look, I do see value in the running back position. I mean, they carry the ball, especially this day and age. You have to be able to catch the ball out of the back field, which he does extremely well. And you have to pass protects.

There's a lot of value there. You know, in our goal, and our goal here for all of our players, not just Melvin, is we want to reward our own. That's what we'd like to do. We'd like to pay them and reward them for their past production, but more importantly, their future performance. But what we can't lose sight of is the main goal. And the main goal is the winning championship. And to compete for championships year after year after year in order to do that, we do have to be fiscally responsible with our salary cap.

And that's just part of it. So we have to find that balance. Obviously, I haven't found that balance yet. But we're in three weeks of training camp going into four weeks. And at this point, we've really got to focus on these guys behind me right now, working hard, working together, working with their teammates, getting ready to play the Colts on opening day. And we can't lose sight of that.

And, you know, we're lucky we have an offense that it's balanced. We have a veteran quarterback. And obviously, look, we know we're a better team with Melvin Gordon on it. But he's not here right now, and hopefully something works out. But in the meantime, we get ready to go. We play an excellent football team in week one. So we'll get together with what we have and keep going. Is it harder for you as a general manager?

I think if I recall, you traded up to get him. I mean, you liked him. Is it harder when you liked the kid when he's good in the locker room? I mean, is there something you even consider about? Listen, I like him. The guys like him. He's good in the room. I mean, does that matter at all, or is it all data?

Yeah, I lost you there a little bit, but yes, this is the people business. There's emotions involved. I mean, yes, we look at data, we look at analytics, but there's also people skills involved. And, you know, players that laid on the line for you, do everything you ask, are great people off the field, have the intangibles you look for and have, you know, big time talent. we want to keep those players around. Our philosophy here is to draft, develop, and resign. Now, does it mean you can resign every single player? Maybe not necessarily, but that's our philosophy when you find the right people.

And like you just mentioned, you know, we traded up to get them in the first round. And, you know, in a period in the NFL that some teams maybe not be willing to take a running back in the first round, but we thought he's a great fit for us. And, you know, he's proved us right with that. All right, Tom, you look great camp with the Saints today. Keep kicking butt. We'll talk soon. Thank you.

anytime thanks for having me on calling you bet yeah that philip rivers discussion's an interesting one because philip doesn't get hurt and philip's got at least two great years left but i think you have to have those conversations if you got i mean god andrew luck aaron rogers cam newton carton listen if jimmy garoppel gets hurt i got news for it kyle shannon's going to wait about three minutes go upstairs called John Lynch say, let's go have salad and lunch and let's talk about this. This is my first NFL coaching job. I'm not going out there with Nate Mullins' next four years. I mean, and we got three great quarterbacks coming out of college next year.

Three minimum. The kid at Oregon, Herbert, you got Jake Fromm, you got Tua in Alabama. And then the year after that, you got Trevor Lawrence. What are you smiling about, Goulai? You always call him, it's Nick Mullins. What did I call him? You always call him Nate. Well, him and Nate Peterman, I think,

at some level related or they kind of look the same. I was laughing. I didn't know whether to correct you because who cares, he's a backup, but you always say, Nate. Well, why wouldn't you correct me? I'm very secure. If he's a starter, I'll correct you. If he's a backup, you know.

That's right. I get the backup bonus rule. Coming up next, James Hardin is better than Michael Jordan. Oh, wait. My bad. Oh, it's herd line, isn't it? God, I'm just all over the joint. Veteran newsman, John Gule.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Nate Mullin says you all screwed up. Yeah. So Tom Brady's very intelligent, went to Michigan, and understands football on a level. I think most players can't even comprehend.

He talks about all the time how he just knows all the answers to all the football questions. That would make him a great coaching candidate, right? Right. Does it matter because it's something we'll never see? Take a listen. Any desire to ever square off with him on the sidelines in your future? As a coach?

Yeah. Hell no. I'm never coaching. I don't know. Plains enough for me. I'm going to guess you agree that you don't want to see and understand that Tom Brady does not want to coach. Well, most legends, let's take Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant, MJ, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, like legends. They're obsessed, right? Like Tony Gonzalez, the Hall of Fame Tide-in works at Fox. We've asked him before, how many players are obsessed? They don't just love their sport. They don't just like their sport. They live their sport.

Tony Gonzalez is like 3%. So 97% of guys like it or love it. They don't live it. Legends all live their sports. When you get out of that tunnel, when you escape that tunnel, Kobe's like, give me Hollywood. Michael's like, give me business. Jeter's like I'll own a team. I'm not managing.

Brady's going to work in the TV12 brand. Those guys come out of a 15-year obsessive. tunnel. They don't want to go back into the coaching tunnel. I could see him owning maybe, wanting to partially own a team or something like that, but he doesn't want to scout college players. Think about this. You know, everybody says that. He'll go own a team.

Tom Brady's made $225 million. After taxes, he's got about $130 of it. Bob Kraft has months. He makes $100 million. So when you start thinking about players owning stuff, Jordan, by the way, does Jordan own the Lakers? no, he owns Charlotte. Michael Jordan could not afford to own like Mark Cuban only owns like I think 55% of the

Mams. Most of these guys have second, third guys that add 200 million or 100 million. Or he could just spend his retirement traveling with his supermodel wife to beaches, which is not a bad option instead of head coaching. It gets old after a couple of years. I'm sure it does. So while we didn't get to see Aaron Rogers play last night against the Ravens, he was on the field afterward and talking. to quarterback Lamar Jackson

take a listen to this interaction. Slide a little more. So if you couldn't hear that, it was Roger's telling Lamar Jackson. Loves watching him play, but maybe slide a little bit this season. How about did you see Lamar's touchdown run though? Oh, guys.

Well, I believe it got called back. I know, but it was incredible. Oh, my God. You don't need to slide when you go into the end zone. Lamar is, I'll say this. Lamar is so different than the rest of the league. I'm attracted to watching. I mean, nothing against Flacco,

but Flacco is, you know, it's just. the same old thing. I know what I'm going to get. It's a bowl of soup. This kid is like spicy wings. He's like crazy. He's got, remember when you used to go to those restaurants and they light stuff on fire? That's Lamar Jackson. He is just, every play is just crazy. Yeah, it's like, like Flacco's just a turkey sandwich. He's the Habachi restaurant, right? They're doing the volcano and all that. Yeah, I mean, Lamar's fun to watch. He is. Now, what I was going to say is, it's really good advice from Rogers, right? Obviously, he's not the runner that Lamar is, but he's a mobile

quarterback who's gotten hurt plenty of times in his career. Yeah, slide. Do you think Lamar can succeed when he has to run as much as he does to be successful at least this point in his career? No, I think first three years he'll run around and be great. It'll be like year five, six, seven. By the way, Russell Wilson, by the way, runs less now. I mean, at just some point, you just can't run around. Russell has an amazing ability, though, to never get hit. Yeah. Right. I don't know if Lamar has that or not yet. Do you guys find Lamar fun to watch? Yes. Like, I do. I find... Because at any play, he could take off for 50 yards.

Yeah, I find his style very, first of all, it's very unique. Nobody plays like him. No. He also is at times, looks like the fastest player on the field for either side of the ball. And there's a lot of suspense to him. And he's flawed enough as a thrower that, like, even when he throws the ball down field, you're kind of holding your breath because he's not a naturally gifted thrower yet. I think running quarterbacks always tend to get people interested in watching them, whether they work or not.

Yeah, Russell's more fun to watch than Matt Ryan. Sure. Yeah. And finally, last Friday, you were not here. I was filling in for joy. Doug was in for you. And we did a story about the Eagles backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld breaking his wrist. Yeah.

And do miss the start of the season. Fast forward to today. And we have another Eagles backup quarterback getting hurt. They had brought in Cody Kessler, who's been with the Browns and the Jags before, to fill in as the backup. First series with the Eagles last night, he got crushed on a blocking miscommunication. Yeah. Had a head injury, diagnosis of concussion. they ended up having to play rookie Clayton Thorson the rest of the game from the first series on,

which is not ideal for preseason. Listen, he's a backup quarterback, right? But Wentz got hurt in college. He's gotten hurt a lot in the pros. Yeah, no, it's a... They don't have Nick Foles anymore, and this is two backups have gotten hurt already in two preseason games. Now, obviously, listen, if Wence gets hurt for the season again, who cares? The season's probably over.

But, man, if they get a situation where Wence is out for a month or six weeks, that could derail their whole season if they're starting guys like that. When it comes to San Francisco and Philadelphia, it is just, I mean, I'm not kidding. I am just sitting there when I watch the Niners and when I watch the Eagles, I'm like tense. Like it's, you know, I mean, because Carson Wentz is a stud. He is an A plus talent. Sure. But we're one more ugly injury away from, you've got to draft another quarterback.

You've got to protect your franchise. I mean, you have a choice next year. You have to protect your, and Philadelphia has got enough good players. they could trade up in the draft easily. Yeah, I mean, the guy they had come in is a rookie, but he was a fifth round pick. I don't know that he's seen as, you know, he's more of a maybe this guy is a backup.

They could be in trouble if Wenz goes down. Veteran newsman, John Goulet. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. By the way, in 15 years, what I'm an old guy, and I make that same mistake, I don't want anybody to say Colin made that mistake

because he's an old guy. I'm not an old guy, and I still make that mistake at least once a month, where I think I'm going to break and I'm actually going to a news guy. I get in the middle of these interviews and I forget where I'm at. So yesterday, Rockets General Manager, Daryl Morey, great guy, very much an analytics guy, came out in a podcast and said, well, James Hardin's a better score than Michael Jordan. We've got sound of it here. Watch out.

You'll all be offended by this. It's just factual that James Hardin is a better score than Michael Jordan. Based on the math. Based on literally, like, you give James Hardin the ball, and before you're giving up the ball, how many points do you generate, which is how you should measure offense? James Hardin is by far number one in NBA history.

Okay, so he is a better three-point shooter than Michael, and he is a better ball handler. So he's got skills offensively better than Michael. And I'm not going to get into a who's a better player. That's not close. Michael Jordan's a much better player. It's not even arguable. But this is where that Daryl Morey and I would disagree,

and this is something that is not, considered an analytic, but I think it's really important. What is your method of scoring? Now, we all know that Jordan won 10 scoring titles. Okay, he won seven straight, played baseball, came back, won three more straight. James Hardin's done it twice. Again, I'm not getting into the argument who's better. Michael's a much better player.

Michael's also stronger, longer, bigger hands, more vertical, can score more different ways. But here's the difference. Michael's method of scoring allowed him to have great energy by the end of the year into the playoffs. James Hardin's method of scoring does not. He's exhausted. James Harden, dribble, dribble, ball-centric, control the offense, dribble, dribble, dribble, I think method matters. James, listen, Russell Westbrook's a great score. Russell Westbrook's method of scoring hurts his postseason, durability, and production.

I think Michael Jordan was off the ball. Michael Jordan tended to score in spurs. It's not like Michael didn't exhaust himself on the defensive end. He plays much better defense than Hardin. But people do not consider the, like in my business, you can get ratings if you have a stick. I can name five radio people in my. sports radio people in my career that have had

schicks. They haven't had 25 year careers of extended ratings. You don't do that with schick. There's a method to ratings. I think the better method is just do on most segments try to be as mindful, as thoughtful, as smart as you can be. That method can get you ratings,

but I think you don't last 25 years doing it. It's like Mercedes and BMW will be good 40 years ago and 40 years from now. But there was a really inefficient thing called a yellow Hummer that for three years was the coolest car on the road, right? So what's the method of scoring? Hardin's method, which is ball-centric, is an exhausting method which leaves him exhausted postseason. He looks tired. He looks like a different player. His numbers go down. Michael Jordan's method of scoring to me is much more

effective, leaves you much fresher for the postseason. And if you're going to talk about greatest all time, Hardin, MJ, Kobe, LeBron, you have to begin with postseason production. Hardin looks tired, Jordan looks refreshed, and that method of scoring, I don't like Westbrook's method of how he scores. I don't like Hardin's method. Whatever the analytics say, I know how James scores. makes him less efficient in May.

How Michael scored off ball leaves him more efficient. Good stuff. Eric Mangini next. Got all sorts of good film. It's coming in here like a movie critic. That is Eric Mangini next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions

everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast,

Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. 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 Fourth.

And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama wants you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramon sending on to Ernie Stewart for chip. I'm Tab Ramos.

I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers,

he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise. surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. By the way, I had a peanut butter and a jelly sandwich right before bed last night.

It was terrific. Eric Mangini and I agree on very little, but he acknowledges that I may have been right on that one. I think you're absolutely right. A well-placed peanut butter and jelly sandwich is fantastic. Takes you back to your childhood. Yeah, it's like the ultimate comfort food. And you had a great night's sleep, right? Oh, unbelievable.

Slept like a baby, and I think a lot of it was because I felt good about my life. I reminisce to my childhood as I had that peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yeah, it's like a nice warm blanket or a nice bath. It's perfect. Yeah, dietitians don't know what they're talking about. Go eat your kale shake. Some of us want to have fun. Doesn't work.

All right, Kyler Murray last night. Cliff Kingsbury, and I was saying this, he's going to be in a division with Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll's knowledge experience in this league. Cliff Kingsbury's an hour and a half in the league. There are times when some of these coaches, the Andy Reid's, the Belichicks, the Peets, the Tomlins, the Sean Patens. I mean, you know the Belichicks, the Parcells. They have such a experience advantage over some of the young guys like Zach Taylor in Cincinnati and Cliff Kingsbury. I don't want to overdo it on Arizona, but they're not throwing the ball down the field. I just, I watch Kyler Murray. What do you make what you see so far? What do I make of it? Well, I think it was perfect.

that they talked about him being a once-in-generational talent right before he has the game that he has, because the role of an organization, a coach, a GM, it's not put more rocks on a player's pile. It's to take the rocks off. It's to take the pressure off and not to add even more to a situation that's already loaded with it. So he goes out, he has a game that a lot of rookies are going to have, that a lot of people are going to have during the course of the preseason. And then that's part of what you do during this process.

And people forget how hard it is for rookies to transition. Everything's new. Granted, the system is something that's similar for him. It's still a new coach that he's working for. It's new players. You don't even know where the grocery stores. You don't know where anything is in your city. You're trying to get used to all those things and be the starting quarterback

and produce at a generational level. It's hard. It's hard. So I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt last night. I also felt like there was a significant amount of blitzing. Yes. for an early preseason game. And not standard blitzes, double mug with disguises.

There was a lot of elements to that that you need to unpack and game plan for if you're going to be successful. And it was hard for him. By the way, Sam Darnold had three different drives against Atlanta. He looked good for the Giants. I thought he entered the league two years younger than Baker. I thought Baker had much better college prep than Sam Darnold did his OC at USC, has since been fired. They didn't have much on the perimeter. They didn't have much in the backfield. Donald looks like he's made a little leap with Adam Gase, surprised. I am a little bit surprised.

I think I've been much harder on Sam Donald than you have. I really liked his first two significant throws yesterday. So they had the play action. They ran the over route, put the ball only where the receiver could get it, looked initially looked the safety off a little bit. There were a lot of elements to that throw that I thought were impressive. And then he comes back with the back shoulder fade. So the guy's working down the sideline. So this is his first throw. And then the back shoulder fade a little bit later.

I thought it was impressive as well. Yeah, those are two really good throws in tight coverage against man-to-man coverage with some pressure. And I'd also thought a little bit later in this drive where he's in the pocket initially kind of slides to his right, shows presence, doesn't get nervous and delivers the ball, all very encouraging signs for him. Let's go to Baker Mayfield. You've got some tape. You love to bring on tape to prove your point.

And I love your tape. So let's go on Baker. What do you got? Well, you know, you watch the first preseason game, and so much is made. They go down, they score and no huddle against a Washington defense that's rebuilding. And they celebrate like they just won the Super Bowl. And it's the equivalent of celebrating after you've run 100 yards and a 26-mile marathon.

And it really wasn't that an impressive. a play, and I want to show you this first touchdown that they had, and what happened. So you're going to see it initially without any telestration. Looks like a great throw, great catch. The celebration comes on, and this is really what took place. The bronze are initially in a three-by-one formation. They're going to run an all-go. Very standard pattern, and the tight end from the three-man side is going to come back to the

one-man side. Washington's playing zone up top to the three-man side and man-to-man down here to the one-man side and it's going to be a three deep zone. Okay, what that means is that the safety right here, Troy Apke, he's going to be in the middle of the field. Okay, that's where he should be. Now, in this situation, the linebacker's got to take the tight end back over to the man side. Apke should be a lot deeper. He should be right here. Instead, he thinks he's got to take the linebacker. He's too far up. It's an easy throw and catch for a touchdown and a mistake and a mistake. Okay. Now, what should have happened is it either been an interception, not

not thrown or blown up hit. Okay, then they celebrate afterwards. We're taking pictures. We're doing all those sorts of things. It was a basic throw in the NFL. It was a basic throw in the NFL against a backup safety with two minutes into the first preseason game. And I just didn't love the amount of stuff that went with it afterwards.

Okay, but did he do something so far in the preseason Baker that you did like? Yeah, this is what I really liked. And we'll take a look at it here. He's at the Cleveland Indians game. Okay, he notices that he's on the Jumbotron. He recognizes that. He acknowledges the crowd. It's great.

He's got the beer in his hand. Looks to his friend, realize he's got a chance to make a play. Gives him the signal right here. He's going to get into the beer chugging challenge. And I like that. It's subtle. Now, here's the problem.

The beer gets thrown, but the lid's facing the wrong way. He's got to transition that as he moves up to his mouth. See the way he does that. So now the lid's where it needs to be. Here's where he makes the incision with his teeth. And a lot of times that's done in college. with a key. He does it with his teeth, and you're going to see there's a little bit of

spillage, but it's really not that much. And he's got the index finger loaded. So once he makes the incision, he can pop it. The beer goes down smoothly. His buddy, for some reason, are looking to the jumbo tron instead of him. I don't really get that part about it. But then you've got the celebration, and I'm good with this celebration. Why? It's because it's at the Indians game. It's for a team that's in the playoff hunt. It's a, the season's well on its way. He's supporting somebody else. And what he did here, that was harder to execute than the play against the safety

he jumped up on the overrun. There's a lot of elements of that that are really hard to do. You're bringing levity to the show. Look at you on a Friday. I'm just trying to give credit where credits do. Okay, fair enough. By the way, I did love this. Do we have that soundbite from Brady?

I love this teaching moment. I had an old boss that once told me this. When you're chewing a guy's butt, put your arm around him. I love you, but I got a deliver bad news. Listen to how Brady carefully selects his words talking about Braxton Berrios who butchered a route in practice. Just listen to how delicate he is with the words. I think so much is him expecting the ball to be a certain place and me expecting him to be a certain place. And I think the chemistry between a quarterback and a receiver, a quarterback in a tight end

is so important because, you know, it's all anticipation. If you're waiting for things to happen in the NFL, you're too late. You know, you've got to just anticipate and expect that. them to be a certain way, and that's the way they turn out. And I have obviously a lot of experience, so I know where guys should be. So I'm trying to tell them, if you want the ball, this is where you've got to be, which is hopefully a good learner for those guys, and it's good teaching for me. I thought that was a really smart way to deliver a message. I'm going to ghost you if you don't show up at the right time because I'm 42 and don't feel

like taking shots. It's a great lesson. And the other lesson is if you get to the right place, he'll make you a star. He'll make you a millionaire. He'll make you famous. If you get to the right place in that offense and that's where the coverage takes you, it's an egalitarian system.

He doesn't care what your name is. He's going to throw you the ball. What's funny, Josh Gordon last year, he really supported him. And then against Pittsburgh, we had a feeling something's going wrong either at practice or with Josh two targets. And so that told me the Pittsburgh game,

oh, something's wrong with Josh. He's gone into a spot where Tom doesn't trust him. Tom's one of those guys. guy as coach, and you know this. You practiced three or four years with him. Like, he demands you're as committed as he is. Did you sense that early with him? Yeah. So I was there with him for six years, and the expectations that he had for himself were as high as any that he would have for anybody else. And the unique thing about Tom Brady is that he still is as demanding of himself now, as rich, as famous, as successful as he is, as he would be for anybody.

else. But the great part about Tom is he'll accept anybody. If you can help the team win, if you're doing the right thing, if you care, he is going to embrace you and he's going to help you be successful. What about responding to the player's Instagram post where the

player put a quote on and said, hey, why don't you get in your playbook? I thought that was another funny, easy way to explain. Hey, dude. Yeah, you're on defense, but you're important to me. I'm watching. Get in your playbook. because we all are in this together.

Good seeing you. Excellent video breakdown. Well, some of your very best work. You have not peaked. You still have many great years ahead. I'm trying. I'm working hard. By the way, he lives in Cleveland. So he's, you know, he's vested in this community.

That Indian pennant race is a big deal for you. All right. Peter King, Jason McIntyre, heading to a third hour on a Friday. Been fun today. Two down, one to go. It's the herd. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week,

within the IHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Peter King has been to 20 NFL camps. I've been vacationing, taking Fridays off. He's working. He's like a baseball umpire, man. He's on the road constantly. Peter King joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network.

He's at the Chargers Camp, the joint practice with the Saints. Before we talk about where you're at now, Peter, I want to talk about the San Francisco 49ers because I think it's, It's a big year for Jimmy Garoppolo. It's a big year for John Lynch's draft picks. They've spent some money on D Ford, Kwan Alexander.

What was the vibe you got with the 49ers camp, Peter? Can he hear us? Can Peter hear us? All right. Let's try to reconnect and see if Peter King can hear us. He could not hear us right there. All right? Could not hear us.

Listen, some times people hear me and they just don't want to respond to me. That's very possible that Peter King heard me and just did not want to respond to me. It's happened more than once in my career. Jason McIntyre is also joining us. Okay, we'll go to Heardline, get Peter figured out. Veteran newsman John Goulde. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News.

So last night we were supposed to see Aaron Rogers play and not audible in Matt LaFleur's new system that we're all wondering how he's going to look in. just before the game, though, they decided to scratch Rogers because of some back stiffness, not a concern, just more of a precautionary holdout. This means basically week three against the Raiders, which I believe that game is in Canada. That's the only time really he's going to be able to, we're going to be able to see him play. Well, with the new offense. Of course, it's not like he's a rookie, but this is a new system that he's had some complaints about.

So I think we're all a little bit interested in how it would look. Matt LaFleur talked about Rogers not getting any snaps. I think we'd like to see him, but you're talking about a veteran quarterback that's played a lot of football. I don't think it's necessarily a necessity, but it's certainly something that we'd like to see. Do you have any concern? Do you want to see him play in the system? Are you good? I think he's fine.

The only thing I ever worry about is Aaron's health, which I used to cross your finger thing, him, Wentz, luck, cams, cross your fingers. But Aaron's going to be fine. I never felt last year because he got hurt in game one last year, right? Again, Chicago. Yeah, he didn't miss time, but he was injured. He had that great comeback. I never felt, I didn't feel until November he was healthy. And then I thought he got dinged up late in the year.

He did. Yeah. So it was mid-season before he started looking like himself again. And by then it was almost kind of too late. I think he, I got to be honest with you, I think Green Bay's personnel, it's young in the secondary in certain spots. I like their personnel. Like, I like Aaron Jones. I like Devante Adams.

Yeah. They drafted a little bit of a project that tied in. Their offensive lines good. They got the best center in the draft. they went and got really smart Preston Smith linebackers I mean they lost Mike Daniels but they've got they've got a good defensive front they're young at corner but talented

they got Amos from the Bears at safety then they drafted the kid out of Maryland was named Savage so they addressed it with a veteran well a little older player I think Green Bay's personnel wise I don't think they're as loaded as Chicago defensively but the balance there's kind of a symmetry between special teams

returners defense offense I think Green Bay is going to win the division We also might have a little bit of a Rogers with a chip on his shoulder. No, no, no, it was McCarthy. It wasn't me. I'm good. And I'm going to show everyone that at our peak levels, I'm the best quarterback. What is their schedule early? They open at Chicago at Soldier Field, which is a, and I think it's like a nationally televised.

That is opening night. It's the opening Thursday. That is a brutal spot to open with an aggressive, by the way, hyper-aggressive, experienced bears defense, and you got a new head coach. What's the rest of the schedule for Green Bay look like? I'll look it up here on my phone. How tough is it? Because I actually think their division.

I think Minnesota is going to be a playoff team. So you're going to have four. It's not easy. What is that? At Chicago, home against the Vikings, home against the Broncos, home against the Eagles, at Dallas. Jeez, that's no thing they had to do. It lightens up a little, but no, it's not easy.

That's not easy. Easier later in the season, I would say, than early. All right. There is some good news for Packers fans, though. Aaron Rogers wants to make beer at Lambo cheaper. Oh. He had a suggestion for getting crowds at Lambo louder, and he suggested they should just slash beer prices.

Packers, middle of the pack in terms of beer prices, 825 for a 16 ounce beer on average at Lamb... That's not terrible. There's a lot worse out here. Their head coach, Matt LaFleur, was even open to the idea because they want to make Lambo a place where it is really difficult to go in and play besides just the weather. Don't half the stadium walk to the games anyway,

so you have an extra beer, you just walk home? Perfect. Roger's a man of the people wanting to slash beer prices. Colin Cowherd not a man of the people, not someone who likes beer at games. I don't need to, I think I can spend three hours at a football game without getting liquored up. I'm not a big fan of alcohol. And I like beers as much as anybody.

I'm not a big fan of getting everybody loaded up at sporting events. I'm not. You basically have a stadium. You pour onto the freeways and drive home and everybody's liquored up. I don't think that's great. I don't think it's very smart. You in the past have mentioned outlawed beer at games, correct? College games, yeah.

You know, it's going the other way. More colleges are actually offering beer. I just don't think it's smart in society to pour 50,000 people onto the freeway bombed. Speaking of college, finally, last story. Aaron Rogers, man of the people. Colin Cowherd, not as much. Nick Sabin, not as much. He's been involved in football in some way or another since 1970.

Player, gradisism, working all the way up and professional. or college football. And in that time, take a listen to something he has never experienced. As a fan or as a student in the game, do you have a favorite moment

or a favorite game in college football history? Well, I'm not a fan. I've never been to, what do you call it when you get in the parking lot and have a cookout tailgate? I've never been to one of those.

So I can't give you a perspective from a fan standpoint. That's my favorite Nick Saban. I'm not a fan. He couldn't think of the word tailgate. He's a professional. Kobe Bryant's not a fam. Kobe's a pro. Colin, that is borderline

offensive that he doesn't know what a tailgate is. Okay. I'm a tailgater. I am a tailgater. I am someone that likes going to games almost solely to tailgate. Yeah. Alabama fans are hardcore tailgators. Right. I bet you they show up for the Iron Bowl a week early. Yes.

Like that is to him, I believe him that he has never been to one because he's busy. He's on the field for games. I love me. I am not going to buy that he does not know what one was and couldn't think of it. You know he likes to plant stuff in press conferences. That feels like a plant to me. I like when he said, what do you call it when you go to a game and you it's called tailgating neck? Right. Like it's a new

thing he's never learned. I mean, I love him. In Alabama, what else is there to do? Well, come on. Now, let's be nice about it. It's a beautiful part of the country. I'm not knocking it. I'm just saying There's not professional teams. It's a more rural area. Rural areas know how to tailgate. All right. John with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Yeah. You know, it's funny, the first time I ever went to, I tailgated in the SEC, because I grew up going to tailgates and stuff. And I'll go to one, like, once a year,

I'll go up, I'm going to a football, well, actually, I'm going to a football game in Provo, Utah this year. They will not be tailgating. They won't be like, lot of drinking there. I would say it wouldn't be your traditional tailgating would be fine, but I think the tailgating will be fine, but I think the Jack

Daniels will be at a minimum. The first time I partied in the SEC, I went to LSU. It was a September 4th, Nick Saban coached LSU, and I was invited down. Oregon State and Mike Riley were coaching

and I went to LSU. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. First of all, there's bourbon everywhere by 8 in the morning. You can smell the bourbon. The second thing is there was a lightning storm. Lightning hit the stadium. There was a torrential downpour. It delayed the game an hour.

People got naked and jumped on the field at halftime. The Oregon State, what do you call it, locker room got flooded. Oh, it was a complete zoo. So that was my first SEC tailgating experience. And when I say this, I'm not joking. You could smell the bourbon as you walk through the crowd. I don't picture you as a bourbon guy or a drinking at 8 a.m. kind of guy. But, you know, I'm not, I'm not just.

judging, I'm just saying, you know, it's at the South, it's a real thing. It's a, you know, it's a part of their tradition. In the South, if you lose a football game on Saturday, it without questions ruins your Monday. Like, there's a study done, like Mondays, people miss more work,

you know, when teams, local teams losing the South. I read that years ago. So it's a real thing. What's up with Peter? Are we, uh, okay. By the way, he's at the Chargers Camp. Derwin James James out for significant time. Melvin Gordon's a holdout. Uh, and Keenan Allen, who's a really good receiver, but Keenan Allen through the years has had some,

I would say, it's reasonable to say, has had some injury stuff. He's got an ankle, bum ankle, so he's not playing either. Can we go to Peter now? All right, let's go back to the camp. Joint practices, chargers, and the Saints. We'll try it one more time. Football Morning in America via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Here is Peter King.

All right, Peter, it's your 20th camp. Let's not talk about this one. I want to go back to your San Francisco 49ers camp. There's a lot of pressure on Garoppolo. John Lynch, they spent some money in free agency. Dee Ford, Quaun Alexander. What was your vibe at Niners Camp? Because I think they make a big jump this year, Peter.

Colin, I'm probably going to pick them to make the playoffs, in fact. You know, I've said if Jimmy Garoppolo doesn't slip on a banana peel in September, I think they're going to win 10 games. Now, that is a really, really good division. be one of the rare years where there could be three playoff teams out of one division. Because I think the Seahawks are sleeping, I wouldn't call them giant, but I think they're sleeping. The Seahawks basically to me are the Steelers of the NFC. You know, they haven't had a lot of placid camps in recent years in both Seattle and Pittsburgh,

but both of them have placid and productive camps now. The 49ers, the one thing that I believe about them is that I think this is the year we're all of the investment in the defensive line really pays off. Because it isn't just DeForest Buckner now. Obviously, with D. Ford, I think Solomon Thomas really is on a crucial year for him. And I think they've got a chance now to finally have that kind of defensive presence that's going to compliment Garoppolo in that offense. So I watched Arizona last night.

I don't want to make a big deal out of the preseason, but the preseason does tell you things. I remember Victor Cruz out of UMass undrafts. popped in preseason and went on to lead the Giants next three years in receptions. Dak Prescott popped in preseason, and here we are, Dak Prescott looking at 30, 35 million. Arizona struggled, Kyler struggled, Cliff Kingsbury struggled. Do you take anything from that, Peter? No, I think we make far, far too much of preseason games.

I mean, last week, you know, talking about which young quarterback looked best in like five, snaps. I mean, you know, it's just, it's just too early. And look, I am sure that Cliff Kingsbury, you know, is doing some experimentation. He doesn't know exactly who he's going to play in what situation yet. You know, some of the communication issues in that game really, in my opinion, are the result of players who've never played in that system before just simply trying to figure you're out. If this happens heavily in the third preseason game, I'd be worried. But again, nobody ever thought that the 2019 Cardinals are going to be a playoff team anyway. This is a year for Kyler Murray to get some calluses on his hand. You know, like when we're talking about batting

practice in baseball, what do you do in March? You get calluses on your hand. You get ready to bat 550 times during the season. That's what this is about for Kyler Murray right now. You know, handful of quarterbacks in this league that I really love, but I do believe they're one more injury away from their front office having to consider a backup plan. Carson Wentz. Andrew Luck, as much as I love Andrew Luck. His injuries have become, Peter, a little bit of an enigma. We can't get a straight answer. What do you make of the Colts and this sort of... Yeah, I mean, Colin, here's just, here's what I would say about the Indianapolis Colts. and about the injuries as it relates to Andrew Luck.

I think the biggest problem here is the mystery aspect of it. Like, I don't think anybody right now, even I bet you ask Chris Ballard and Frank Reich, and they're not going to be able to know right now, is Andrew Luck going to be able to play on September 20th or November 20th? Or is he going to play this year? That is the weird part of this injury. When I saw Andrew Luck in training camp, he was absolutely confident, positive that he was going to play opening day.

And now, I don't know if you're in Indianapolis, if you have any idea when he's going to play. The only good thing about that is that Jacoby Brissette, I think, is probably one of the top 10 backups right now in football, so it's not like they have to mail in the season without luck. Yeah, he is surrounded now, which he wasn't for the first three years. Their defense can play. They've great offensive line, tight-end play.

I agree with you. He's got a better supporting cast. Now, you went to the Eagles camp as well. I believe they're as formidable. I think they'll win the NFC. That's my prediction. I like Howie Roseman. I like Wentz.

What did you make a Wentz, the camp, the vibe with a team that really feels poised to be excellent for a long, long time? So in 2018, I sat with Wentz for 20 minutes after practice. 2019, I sat with Carson Wentz 20 minutes after practice. The Carson Wentz of 2019 is markedly different from the, you know, he felt more freewheeling, more open, happier than he was a year ago. He was guarded a year ago. He was so sick of everybody talking to him about his injury.

And I sensed a real, I don't want to say lack of confidence, but a real kind of wariness about whether he was going to be able to last last year. Now, it turned out another injury ended up hurting him, but I think this year he's in a much different place. Now, having said that, Nate Sudfeld is one of the ten most important players on that roster. You know, and everybody says, oh, my God, what are you talking about? Well, I mean, the backup quarterback in Philadelphia is a vital piece of the puzzle. It's why if I were Howie Rose and I might have tried to really stretch one more year and keep Foles.

But now that Foles is gone and they're going to miss Suddfeld maybe for like two or three games, when he comes back, he better be ready to play because you just never know. You know, it's very hard. I've always said this. You know, the more successful somebody gets, the richer they get, it's harder to change who they are. Aaron Rogers is successful. He's got a ring. He is super smart.

And now you've got a coach coming in Matt Lafleur, who's young, unproven, and has a system very much like Shanahan McVeigh that he doesn't love ad-libbing out-of-play calls. I think it'll be fine because I think Aaron's gifted. But I do wonder how the rub goes if Aaron does some ad-libbing and stuff that was called doesn't work. Do you have any concerns at all about that relationship? I think you have to have concerns about the relationship because, you know, there were times where it was rocky between he and Mike McCarthy and Aaron basically

is a very strong-willed guy who knows what he likes. And so, but I'll just tell you one story from that camp, Colin. You know, I found out that one of the plays in their scrimmage, a family night scrimmage, was a play that Aaron Rogers changed at the line of scrimmage, even though the play he changed to hadn't been installed yet by Matt LaFleur. But he just explained it to everybody walking on the line. Here's what you're going to do, blah, blah, blah.

And he ended up doing it and they ran it fine and they gain yardage on the play. And Matt LaFleur was over there like he had no idea what was going on out on the field. But that is the strength of Aaron Rogers. He is never going to stay in a play that he thinks going to be an abject disaster. The one other thing about Rogers and Lefleur that I found interesting. Matt Lafleur, when I said, how does it feel to be Aaron Rogers' boss? He almost winced. He said, oh, I don't want to be called Aaron Rogers' boss.

We have sort of a collaborative relationship. That's the way it has to be with the play designer play caller and the quarterback. So, you know, we'll see how it goes, Colin. The only problem that I foresee coming, in my opinion, Aaron Rogers is not necessarily a consistent, tempo quarterback. He wants to survey the landscape and see what he has. And I think Matt Lafleur wants to play

fast, fast, fast, fast. We'll see how that goes. I don't know how that marriage is quite going to work. Analytics are changing sports. Certainly baseball, they've made, there was the first sport to make major changes. Basketball now. Analytics are shoot threes and no mid-range jumpers.

Analytics are becoming very cruel to running backs. Whereas you can make an argument, you don't sign them a second long contract. You're at the Chargers Camp Melvin Gordon. I just ran into him at the airport. Great, great kid. But he knows the reality of what's happening to his position. Similarly, Zeke in Dallas wants to get paid two years early. So you've been covering this league for 30 years. Maybe it's cyclical. But Peter, does it not feel like the Melvin Gordon's and Zeeks, if not being eliminated, are being marginalized in this league now in this sport?

I don't think Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon have the same impact on their teams. If I were to guess right now, I would guess that the Chargers would be comfortable as the wrong word, would be okay with playing a significant part of this season without Melvin Gordon, whereas the Cowboys can say whatever they want. If they don't have Ezekiel Elliott opening day, there's going to be a lot of unease in that locker room because this is probably as much as any team in football, a team that wants to live on the ground.

And, you know, the Chargers are Philip Rivers team. And I think Austin Echler and, you know, the backup Jackson, I think, are both going to make the Chargers feel like we can be okay and we can win without Melvin Gordon. And again, the Chargers did not invent what's happening to the, you know, in the NFL right now. but I think the general manager, Tom Telesco, has to feel like, listen, if we pay Melvin Gordon $12, $14 million a year, that's just going to be one guy on our defense, a young guy that we're not going to be able to sign.

So I think, and plus, I mean, Gordon's got another year. So I don't think the Chargers feel like they absolutely, from what I've read, they don't feel like they absolutely have to do something with Melvin Gordon. And if he doesn't come in, he doesn't come in. All right, football morning in America, Peter King, NBCSports.com, brave enough to wear a long-sleeved black shirt in the Southern California sun. It's great having you on again. Hey, when you've had a couple of melanomas, Colin, the long-sleeve shirt doesn't really bother you as much as wondering what's going to have what's happening under your skin. Fair enough, Peter.

Have a continued great summer. We love your stuff. NBCSports.com. Football Morning in America. Peter King coming up next tomorrow's headlines today with J-Mac. It's 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 IHeart Radio app. Jason McIntyre is joining us here on a Friday. You know, I take some Fridays off in the summer, so do you.

Not as many as you. Well, I'm very, very busy doing things like, you know, water skiing and hiking. Getting hamburger joints ready? Yes, it's all that. So we do what's called tomorrow's headlines today. these are, you're a former newspaper, a veteran, a grizzled newspaper man. 20 years ago, early in my career, not as prestigious as being a, you know, AAA baseball announcer, I believe is what you were. It was.

So Jason McIntyre joining us, founder of the big lead, and he gives us what he thinks tomorrow's headlines will be. Now, we're doing a new thing today. You've got five of them. We did this yesterday. In the NFL last 30 years, at least four new playoff teams every year. People don't realize that. It is so much turnover in the league every single year.

Four teams minimum, 30 years in a row. I picked mine yesterday. I picked Pittsburgh and Atlanta and Minnesota and Green Bay. I'll make the playoffs. So here we go. We'll start with your new number one playoff team. Tomorrow's headline today. Right.

So unfortunately, we do have a couple similar, and I'm going to start with one that you like as well. You can see the black and gold behind us. The headline is, no bell, no brown, no problem in Pittsburgh. Colin, I love this Steelers team. Absolutely all over them. A funny number I saw, Ben Rothesberger attempted 675 passes last year, most in the league by a mile. Why was that? Well, they didn't have Levy on Bell. And I think there was some uncertainty as good as James Connor was. Big Ben thought he had to put it all on his shoulders and win it all. He's not going to have to do that this year, not because of necessarily the new running backs, Connor and Jalen Samuels, but the defense. I absolutely love the Steelers' defense. defense. You saw their draft. They got a kid out of Michigan. They traded up from Devin Bush. Devin Bush. He is going to be such a game changer. He is essentially their replacement for Ryan Shazier who's been lost to injury. They were 31st in the league last year defending tight ends.

Travis Kelsey destroyed them. Gronk famously has crushed Mike Tomlin teams. Devin Bush finally will be the guy in the middle. You know the Steelers? Their front for it. They led the defense, the NFL and Sachs last year. T.J. Watt. And this is Mike Tomlin's best secondary that he's ever had since being in Pittsburgh. There's real optimism here. I do believe the Steelers are a playoff team, and they're going to boot another team for the division, the Baltimore Ravens, I think, fall.

All right, new playoff team number two, tomorrow's headlines today. A bit of a home recall. You don't have them in the playoffs. You do like their quarterback. The headline will be playoffs again, Sam. Oh, very funny. Yes, I know you're a big Casablanca fan, the great movie, Humphrey Bogart.

And, I mean, everything for me is the media and the fans love to make fun of Adam Gaze, the new coach of the Jets. Well, he's got smelling salts on the sideline. And he's blinking and looking all weird in the press conference. Yeah, you know what he does on the field? He gave Peyton Manning his best year ever, 55 touchdowns. By the way, beat Belichick twice.

And when Ryan Tannahill was his starting quarterback, had a winning record with that dysfunctional organization. And then, of course, we can only talk so much. Levy on Bell, the best running back they've had since Curtis Martin, Jameson Crowder in the slot and just a quick note on the Jets schedule. 31st ranked schedule in the league. Very easy.

They don't leave the Eastern time zone this season, Colin. Cincinnati is as far as they go west. You can't get luckier than that. Sam Darnel, baby. Into the playoffs. New playoff team number three, tomorrow's headline today. This is another one you like.

This headline actually was my theme song when I was in college. Are you ready for this? The headline is Return of the Pack. Green Bay Packers, mine was Return of the Mac. I'm sure you know that. You don't know that. So at any rate, Aaron Rogers is back.

People kind of, he's like the forgotten man right now. And I compared him yesterday and undisputed to LeBron James, right? LeBron had injuries last year. LeBron got a new coach. Aaron Rogers had injuries. He was hurting the opener against the Bears and was kind of hobbled all season. He now has a new coach. They stole your guy from Tennessee, Matt LaFleur, the offensive coordinator.

And Aaron Rogers is going to be under center a lot more this year. based on the offense. Lafleur wants to run the football more. They drafted a tight end for some two tight end sets. Remember Derek Henry with the Titans last year running over people to the playoffs? Packers are going to do that with Aaron Jones. I like this team a lot. I do believe they win the North. And the Chicago Bears are going to be the team I have falling out for the Packers.

By the way, Green Bay has addressed their corner linebacker and safety concerns. The last two drafts and free agency. So I think it's Aaron's best defense in years. new playoff team number four for J-Mack, tomorrow's headlines today. This one was iffy. This was one of my questionable ones. The headline, you can see the jersey in the background, will be the Ryan King. Matt Ryan?

I agree with you on this. You do, okay. Yeah, because they fell apart physically in September last year. Darius Jones at linebacker. There's no way you could overcome that. Yeah, and now the schedule is very difficult early for them. First three games are a big challenge. Second half of the season, they'll be favored in six of their final seven.

The big question for me is, can Vic Beasley get any point? pressure on the quarterback because the secondary is not very good. And if you can't get to the quarterback and the secondary is not good, you know, coming off these injuries. Lastly, Devante Freeman. Yes. Now, if he's healthy, he's amazing. Now, they gave him a huge contract.

He got hurt in week one. It was done. So if you don't have him kind of hurts the Ridley-Hulio combo. But I like the Falcons to get to the playoffs. So do I. In a division where it always feels pretty close. It's a game here. It's a game there.

Finally, new playoff team number five tomorrow's headlines today. This is the favorite headline of everybody who helped me write. this and I don't think anybody has these guys in the playoffs. The headline will be, well, isn't Matt special? You know, you're not, you know, you love Martin Short and Dana Carvey is, of course, the church lady. So a little nod to SNL there. I do not agree with this. Give me the reason. Yeah, so Matt Patricia was in year one with the Lions and he didn't have any of his guys in place. His strategy, when you read about what he likes to do, he likes to pressure three or four and let his secondary do the work, just like Bill Belichick. He didn't have any of his guys. He didn't have any of his guys in

have a pass rusher last year. They had no pass rush whatsoever. So what does he do? He goes and steals Belichick's guy, Trey Flowers. So now they have the pass rush. I do believe that they drafted four of their first five guys on defense. The defense is going to be much better. Matt Patricia's going to have them in games

and Colin, I can't stress this enough. They were a bet on team for me last year with Carry on Johnson the running back. Remember they beat the Patriots early? Whoa, Kerry on Johnson. The kid out of Auburn's pretty good. And I'm telling you, this offense will hum. Keep an eye on T.J. Hawkins. You playing any fantasy football?

He's a rookie tight end from Iowa. He's going to be a, he's going to be all rookie team, no question. Yeah, and Kenny Goliday, I love the Detroit Lions, Colin. Take it to the bank. All right, Jason McIntyre, the J-Mack Journal, tomorrow's headlines today. We'll see you Monday. Have a great and safe weekend. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves,

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