The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Dodgers keep losing

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

Colin looks at the Dodgers losing for the 10th time in the last 13 games and why everyone freaking out about Los Angeles creating a stacked team was overblown Thoughts on Bears QB Caleb Williams' goals for the season   Guest: Albert BreerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific.

Find your local station for The Herd at Fox SportsRadio.com, or stream us live every day on the IHeart radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Wednesday. We are lives. We're going to go into the Vikings training camp. Penn State head coach James Franklin and the quarterback, Drew Allo for the

Nittney Lions, joining us today. We are in Chicago. J. Mack, you know, we're having an AI revolution in this country. and I think it's going to create life-altering, life-saving medical advances. I tend to be an optimist that it'll save all of us time. There's two ways to look at AI. You can be afraid of it. I am not.

I think it's going to be amazing. Also, America remains the best place for global wealth to park its money. A lot of good things happening in sports, but sometimes I just don't want sports to become politics. So I'm going to start today's show with that. So let's start with that. The Dodgers, oh, everybody's afraid of the Dodgers. They're in a total tailspin. Bullpen imploded again last night.

Nobody can hit. They've lost 10 of 13, nothing going right for the Dodgers. And, I mean, last night it's the Minnesota twins that jump out to a lead. You know, Tani knocks one out. They can't do anything right. Before the season started, the offseason, it was unfair. I can't believe all the money they have. And I just hope sports never becomes politics.

Politics in 2025 is fearmongering both sides. The world's going to end and conspiracy theories, a majority on one side. In sports, you occasionally hear it, and we heard it about the Dodgers as we went into the season. It's unfair. The little guy can't compete. In baseball this year, the Milwaukee Brewers are tied for the best record. Small Market Milwaukee, they have swept the Dodgers twice.

They have a great manager, Pat Murphy, excellent, well-run organization, hottest team in baseball, multiple great arms. They are going nowhere. Little Market Milwaukee, hottest team in baseball, have beaten the Dodgers this year six times and have yet to lose to them. By the way, the last NBA finals we just watched, Oklahoma City and, In Indiana, two of the smallest, 10 markets in the NBA. The Oklahoma City Thunder have the best GM and Sam Presti, a star from Canada, three great stars.

They have so many draft picks. They have more than multiple team draft picks combined over the next decade. They're going nowhere. It could very well dominate the league. Or maybe it's Indiana, another small market team. Oh, by the way, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic, and the Spurs have really, really bright futures, much brighter in my opinion than the ancient clippers from L.A. The NFL currently has one semi-dynasty in small market Kansas City.

The favorite to win the Super Bowl is the second smallest market Buffalo and keep your eye on the Packers and the small market Ravens. The top four quarterbacks, you know, it's all rigged, are in Cincinnati, Buffalo, Kansas City, and Baltimore. Oh, by the way, last 10 years, both New York. York teams and Chicago stink. The college basketball champion, Gainesville, Florida. College football, Natty, Columbus, Ohio.

And isn't it weird how Caitlin Clark did not end up with the New York Liberty or the L.A. Sparks, she ended up in small market, Indiana. Boy, if sports in this country are rigged, whoever's rigging it is doing a terrible job. As for the Dodgers, it's a tailspin. It's injuries. Nobody can hit. The bullpen's exploded. They're 0 and 6 against the Brewers. And here's Dave Roberts after another loss last night.

It better be rock bottom as far as kind of how we've been pitching, how we've been playing defense. I think the offense is starting to kind of tick up, which is good. There's certainly more in there. We'll be more in there. but yeah i think as far as quality of baseball it's it's it's been a tough watch it really has yes now now that doesn't mean all conspiracy theories are wrong years ago there were concerns about the tobacco industry causing cancer it turned out they were right remember those executives that stood in front of a judge we we don't know what you're talking about and

People said, I don't know, I've got people in my family who are big smokers died early. Yes, it's just we actually did land on the moon. That one I'd put away. But here is a story that I started last week that it's not a conspiracy theory. It is what I would call a reality of relationships. So Tony Rizzo talking about the Brown's owner, he's at Cleveland Sports Talk. a host, Jimmy Haslam, and the Manning family and Arch Manning. Here you go.

I know it's nothing that they want to talk about, but I'm telling you the thirst that Jimmy Haslam has for Arch Manning is unmatched. That Haslam's donated a ton of money to Tennessee. They have a relationship with Manning family. I don't think it's a coincidence. They acquired a second first round pick. It is not. In fact, this is the worst kept secret in the South. Haslam, Jimmy, owner of the Browns, huge SEC Tennessee booster, leans heavily on the Manning family. Very close to the Manning family. Yes, that's not make-believe. Arch Manning is part of the Manning family, and this is where Nick Saban comes in.

Saban is incredibly close to not only Jimmy Haslam, but Saban's close to the Manning family as well. And so Saban, if he could land, I'm told, a top quarterback like Harbaugh going to the charges for Herbert, he would take a phone call for the NFL. And there are two teams guaranteed to be awful this year in the NFL. Cleveland and the Saints. Nick Saban has coached in Cleveland with the Browns under the Belichick staff, and he coached at LSU. This is not a conspiracy theory.

Haslam's Circle of Trust, according to an article in the athletic last year, is the Manning family and Jimmy Sexton and Bill Parcells. Sexton is Nick Sabin's agent. So the Mannings are royalty in New Orleans, the Children's Hospital in New Orleans, the Children's Hospital in New Orleans. is called the Manning's Children's Hospital. And the Mannings are royalty to Jimmy Haslam. Jimmy Hasam also loves headlines. It's why he pushed the draft Johnny Mansell and Baker Mayfield. They were the most talked about quarterbacks.

It's why he signed a ridiculous guaranteed contract for Deshawn Watson. It would get discussed. So this is not a conspiracy theory. Okay. The circle of trust for Jimmy Haslam is the Manning family and Jimmy Sexton. Sabins, Manning, Haslam, South. That's why I've said. And there's two teams in this league that are going to be bad.

The Saints are going to be bad and the Browns are going to be bad. That doesn't mean Saban, if he doesn't take the job, it's all lost for Cleveland, Kevin Stefansky, Andrew Barry, the GM, more than capable. But this story is a poorly kept secret. the mannings haslam jimmy sexton nick sabin's why i ran with that thing last week lane kiffin talked about it gregg mackleroy sabin's not going to college he would take a call in the nfl all right jemack i you know jimack you are not a conspiracy theorist we did we did land on the moon but you do hear this a lot you do you really do you heard it a lot about the dodgers before the season there

was all this fear mongering. Yankees haven't won a trophy since 2009, I think. And if you really look right now at some of the most poorly run franchises in the last 15 years in the NFL, I'm not saying necessarily today, though in many cases it is today, it's been Chicago teams, the white socks, bulls haven't been good, the bears, the giants, the jets. So the truth is I think you do get more game day revenue in big cities like New York, L.A., Chicago and Philadelphia, you get great game day revenue.

But really what runs sports is passion, integrity, attention to detail, and sometimes in smaller markets, you can make Mark few, the basketball coach at Gonzaga always told me this. This is why Gonzaga wins more than UCLA. He said at Gonzaga, I can sign three-star recruits. Our fans trust the process. He goes, if you take a Duke Carolina, Arizona, UCLA, if you took two, three-star prospects, they're crushing you. That is the pressure of USC. What are the stars?

It's the pressure of the big cities. What are the stars? Milwaukee's losing managers to the Cubs? They go out and get another manager. Yes, sometimes you get cherry-picked if you're in a Milwaukee or a Pittsburgh or a Kansas City or a Buffalo. But the truth is, most of the best-run franchises in pro sports today, there are some exceptions. are medium to small market. Oklahoma City, brilliantly run.

Indiana, incredibly role one. I mean, the Cleveland Cavaliers disappointed us this year. Look at their roster over the last three or four years. We just haven't missed on many acquisitions. They had on almost all of them. Yeah, I actually was at the Dodgers game last night. They were very sloppy all around, the pitching. Otani did nothing until the bomb when they were down five runs in the ninth.

I just was unimpressed by the Dodgers last night. But let me just ask about this Brown's take, because that's kind of spicy. If he loves Archmanning so much, is there a world where Stefanski and the owner and the GM, everybody got on the same page saying, hey, guys, we can take a gap year. Okay, I don't want to take a quarterback first overall.

Let's just get the rest of the roster ready. Let's re-sign Miles Garrett. Let's get some positivity and gun for Archbanting next year. And I know nobody's saying you're throwing a season, but there is a high-level discussion to be had about smarts and future. Well, yeah, they don't have to. The division has much better rosters and much better quarterback. So Cleveland can try to win.

And I think in September through good coaching, they'll be fun to watch. But you can't convince a locker room that lacks talent after you're one in five, people start bailing. And then you start resting guys. So you don't have to tank in the NFL. It'll all take care of itself. Now, the Rams also have two first round picks. And I've been told they would like, they'd give both up for a quarterback. But they're going to be too good.

The other pick comes from, I think, Atlanta, and Atlanta's probably going to be too good to be a top eight or nine draft pick. So Drew Allers on the show later. He'll be the first or second quarterback taken, in my opinion. But Cleveland and the Saints don't have to try. Now, the Saints are in a weaker division so they can win games. They'll stumble into some victories. But the Cleveland's losing twice to the Ravens, probably losing twice to Burrough. And the Steelers roster, especially on the defensive side, is just much better than Cleveland.

And Cleveland doesn't have a quarterback. You don't have to tank in the NFL. Bad teams by mid-October are going to become, I mean, we know the New York Giants aren't very good. We know the Saints aren't good in Cleveland isn't good. You just look at their schedules. These are one in five teams to start. And at that point, you lose the locker room, no matter how popular the coach is, you have controversy, dissension, and it all slides downhill.

Let me ask, though, the interesting aspect of this is the coach. Everybody knows Stefanski is a really good coach. He's one coach of the year. Colin, how attractive is this job to everyone if Archmanning is the number one pick and the Browns have the number one pick? Do you keep Tafansky or do you move off and you have your pick of the litter, anybody? I would keep Stafansky unless I could get Saban. I would keep Stafansky.

I don't want to, you listen, Schofansky to me is an A coach. Saban is an A coach and literally your triple your merch. I mean, it would be a revolutionary hire. But I'm not, there is no third. candidate. If I can't get Saban, I'm not getting rid of Stefansky. Stavansky's excellent. I would say Bill Belichick, but I'll put him into the side for now. Don't turn your nose up at Bill Belichick, the greatest coach in the history of football.

Okay, let's not do that. Well, I think, yeah. I mean, you can throw that out there, but he had a pretty sour taste in his mouth on what happening. Let me throw another one for you. Just hypothetical. Dion Sanders. There's no proof he could win at the NFL level.

There's no proof Sabin can win at the NFL. There's a lot of proof he is really, really good football coach. 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. Hey, we're Kavino and Rich. Fox Sports Radio every day, 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern. But here's the thing. We never have enough time to get to everything we want to get to. And that's why we have a brand new podcast called Overpromised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two-hour show.

never get to everything. Honestly, because this guy is over-promising things we never have time for. Yeah, you blubberlips. Blame and me. Well, you know what? It's called over-promise. You should be good at it because you've been over-promising women for years. Well, it's a Kavino and Rich after show, and we want you to be a part of it. We're going to be talking sports, of course. But we're also going to talk life and relationships. And if Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time,

it will continue on our after show called Over-Promise. Well, if you don't get enough, Kavino and Rich, make sure you check out Over-Promise. uncensored, by the way. So maybe we'll go at it even a little harder. It's going to be the best after-show podcast of all time. There you go. Overpromising. And remember, you could see it on YouTube, but definitely join us.

Listen to Overpromised with Kavino and Rich on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas, we invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian business, man catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world. He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets,

meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 SportsSlic on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Albert Breyer is going to be joining us from Minnesota Vikings training camp. Interesting division. We talked about that yesterday, that we don't know what J.J. McCarthy is for the Minnesota Vikings. So we love their coach and we like their roster and their offensive weapon. We don't know what J.J. McCarthy is. We really don't.

Green Bay has a middle of the league roster. Jordan Love didn't play well at the end of the year. We're not really sure what he is. I like him, but he regressed. Could have been injuries. And then Detroit is kind of viewed by odds makers and the wise guys as the one team because they lost two great coordinators and have issues on the interior line. We don't think they're a 14 or 13 win team.

We all think they're about a 10 to 11 win team. And that is now up to the Chicago Bears to see. these opportunities. And the Bears have a new coach. They upgraded their offensive line. There's still questions upstairs, but we think the on-field product should be better. And Caleb Williams yesterday talked about his goals

for the season. Listen. Obviously, I have self-goals, and that's, you know, being the first 4,000-yard passer. In Bears history, that's a goal of mine, 70% completion that helps the team, keeps on the field, puts us in better positions. and then other than that, just trying to go down

and score the most points that we can with these drives that we have. So, you know, that's kind of my self-goal and obviously other than that. You've got to go win. That's success for me. That's success for the team. And, you know, that's all we wish for and all I wish for.

So he talked about 4,000 yards, completion percentage, win games. I don't have those as any of his goals. My goal for Caleb Williams is, stop getting hit. He got sacked 68 times. That is the most in 20 years. Yeah, 20 years.

David Carr is the last guy in Houston to get hit like that. He also took 108 hits. He was pressured 166 times, which is 35th out of 36 qualified quarterbacks. Get rid of the ball fast. That's really the goal for me. It was very interesting. I was watching something about a month ago.

It was on a podcast called The Pivot. And it was Bill Belichick talking about the greatness of Tom Brady. And, you know, I think about how great Tom Brady was in big games, underrated arm strength, his movement in the pocket, his ability to throw the ball in terrible windy cold Foxborough weather, his clutch fourth quarter. No, no, no. Here's what Bill Belichick said. Here are the two reasons. Tom Brady is the goat.

You know, Tom did three things. I thought were just unbelievably great. As a quarterback, we all know worst situation you can be in as long yardage. And so as long as the ball moves forward, you stay out of long yardage. And Tom did such a great job of not. allowing negative plays to happen to our offense. Number two, as I've told Tom many times, Tom, we can't gain any yards until you get rid of the ball.

And then, of course, he made, you know, great decisions under pressure and had a tremendous ability to see the field and understand situational football and make quick decisions under pressure. The goat, 20 years together, he's like, no pre-snap penalties. We were always moving forward and he got rid of the ball. It's not being an action star.

Caleb Williams last year was trying to be an action star. He was trying to be Vin Diesel plus the Rock. Cam Newton did that really well. Never had back-to-back winning seasons. Brady was known all the things he does well. Belichick's like, yeah, we never went backwards. And I always told Tom, we're way better when you get rid of the ball fast. So the goat, the goat of coaching and the goat of quarterbacking agreed,

get it out of Tom's hands. And last year, Caleb held the ball in his hands too long. Being a quarterback is much more about being an accountant than an action star. Right? And that to me, it's not about yards. I don't care if he throws for 2,000 yards. It's not about touchdowns. It's not about, I don't even care about the wins.

Don't get hit. get rid of the ball as fast as you can. I've said this about Mahomes. Same with Michael Jordan. 95% of Michael Jordan's buckets were mid-range jumpers. Easy lifts. 95% of Mahomes' greatness. Drag patterns, 8-yard-out, dig route.

Mahomes and Jordan about three times a game are otherworldly. And do things you've never seen in your life on both ends of the floor for Jordan. And that's with Caleb. About three to four times, dude, do your thing. And the other 28 dropbacks, no pre-stap penalties, don't get sacked, and get the ball out of your hands as quickly as you possibly can. That is quarterbacking. Jay Mack with a news.

No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. He also had 10 fumbles last year. Again, I don't even blame a quarterback. If you're getting hit and don't see it coming, hits are injuries, hits or negative plays, hits or fumbles, hits or pressures. It is amazing, though, Belichick's just like, we didn't go backwards and Tom got rid of it really fast. And that's the essence of winning at that position. It's interesting.

Who could have seen this coming when all Caleb Williams did was play backyard football at USC? Who could have possibly seen this coming, Colin? Let's get started with the New York Giants. Hey, listen, this is hilarious. Okay. So for starters, Brian Dable said, hey, Russell Wilson is going to be the week one starter. He's already stamping. Russ is our guy.

He's going to be the starter. We don't know if James is going to be the backup or Jackson Dart. But the media loves Jackson Dart. Colin, fast forward to Jackson Dart's first throw in 11 on 11. First throw. And I think we have video. Here it is. Drops back to pass over the...

Oh, that's intercepted. And it's going to go all the way. Jackson Dart's first pass at 11 on 11s was a... Pick six. Kind of mortifying for the young guy, but better now, I guess, than preseason week one, right? Yeah, you know, it's too bad because where I think the Saints and Cleveland are, at least for one year, really, really bad football teams. I actually think the Giants have some really nice, I mean, seriously, the six most important positions in football, offensive coach, quarterback, left tackle, edge rusher, primary weapon. Giants are good there.

what they don't have, A, they're in a tougher division, and they're unsettled at quarterback. Russ is, oh, he's... Unsettled. I mean, I mean, I think Russ, I think Russ, he's in the two-a-class-ish, not quite two anymore because he's older.

But the truth is, I think the Giants have talent. I just think it's the roughest schedule I've ever seen. And after they go one in five to start, there's going to be, you know it and I know it. These New York fans of the media are going to be begging for Jackson Dart, and it's just going to, I mean, because, listen, let's, that is the toughest first four games in the league.

At Jaden Daniels, at Dach, Mahomes and Herbert. That's brutal. And then after the Saints, it's Philly. These are all, I mean, Philly at Denver, at Philly, San Francisco. This is a brutal schedule. And so Jackson Dart, my guess, by week five, everybody's going to be clamoring for him. And in my opinion, he's not close to ready. But I think the Giants have talent.

Let me just give you potentially optimistic. So the Giants played Washington tough last year. Jade and Daniels will not sneak up on them. And the Giants' front seven kind of sort of nasty. They can get after the passers. Let's say Terry McLaurin is a no-show in week one. There's a world where the Giants are competitive and maybe shock Washington. And I don't think Dallas is that impressive.

So maybe they start 2-0. But even that glimmer of hope, Colin, is going to be squashed in pretty short order. My guess right now is the Giants will lose at Washington, beat Dallas, lose to the Chiefs and Chargers, beat the Saints, they'll be two and three heading to Philadelphia, and then it's going to go sideways because they're not beaten Philly, Denver, Philly, or San Francisco. That's when it goes sideways. I think they'll be viable in September. And then do you start Operation Tank for Arch Manning in the second half of the season? Eli Manning, his uncle, very familiar with the Giants organization. Here's the thing. Next year is such a good question.

quarterback class, and the Giants will have a top five or six pick. There's no disputing that. And I think they have talent. I think they're a quarterback away. I don't think the Saints and the Browns are a quarterback away. A quarterback away? Again. From what? Again, left tackle, weapon, D-line, there's stuff there with the Giants. Okay. So, but the difference is, whether you want to play Jackson Dart or not, I think you're better served to play. Jackson Dart's not ready this year. But if you play him and he stinks, it's much easier to move off him next year

when you have a loaded first round of quarterbacks. Don't have Russ take all the hits. You have to show New Yorkers. Jackson's not ready to play. It didn't even matter if he was okay. Because my take is the downside of drafting Jackson Dart will they talk themselves into passing on a quarterback next year?

Because I'm telling you right now, the Giants are going to be in the top six in the draft next year. You've got to draft the quarterback. I need to know more about the GM and the coach if they win four games. What's going to happen? Let's move on to another team in the NFC East, and that is the Dallas Cowboys. Michael Parsons is attending Cowboys Camp, despite the lack of contract. Parsons is not happy about that.

And here he is sounding off. When you go around the league and you see these other teams taking care of their best guys, I see TJ got taken care of, you know, Max got taken care of, Miles got taken care of, and he got two years left on his deal. So it's hard. Yeah, you see a lot of people around the league and taking care of. You just, you know, wish you had something like, you know, that same type of energy, you know. I don't take a person.

I just don't understand. Does he have a year left on his contract? I'm just wondering. Yeah. For those not watching, Micah Parsons looks absolutely jacked. Chief. Did you see how tight that shirt was? That guy's an NFL pass rusher.

He's built different. He's not eaten mutton and half and half. He's actually working out. That's a jab at me, yeah. I know. I heard noted, Coward. Micah Parsons, this is the final year of his contract. You don't have to pay players while they have a year left on their contract.

It's good business to do that. That's why everybody else does it, Colin. They do it early. Get it out of the way. Four of their superstars. I mean, it's hard pressed not to say that he's been a superstar since he entered the league. No? I mean, he's been one of the elite pass rushers.

If you don't want to say top five and five, top seven in the league. Totally dominant. Not in his prime yet. Okay. All right. Final story, Colin. Let's go to college football. This is fun.

So Indiana was an amazing story last year. Hoosiers went to the playoff. Second year coach, Kurt Signan. Eddie is ruffling some feathers this weekend this season so far. He has canceled a home and home against the University of Virginia. And when asked about it by the media, I think you'll love this answer. 12 to 16 SEC teams play 3G5 or an SCS game. 12 of those teams play 36 games, 29 G5 games, and 7 SCS games,

and one less conference game. So we figure we'd just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy. You know, some people don't like it. I'm more focused on those nine conference games. He's absolutely right. He's absolutely right. The Big Ten now is as good as the SEC. And I don't want to hear about the bottom in the middle.

In the history of college football, especially modern college football, we talk about your top four teams. Nobody cares about the seventh right. Nobody judges a conference going, are sevens better than your seven? The top four right now, and they are big money programs, are Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan.

Okay, wait to, if USC was good, and they haven't been in a while, but your top four, and they're all highly funded, Phil Knight Money, Ohio State, Michigan, the top four of the SEC are Texas, Georgia, I guess Alabama, but they're struggling with NIL and Ole Miss, but they don't win a lot of big games. So I don't want to hear about Big Ten teams not play.

They play another conference game. And now that you've got Washington in the conference, Oregon in the conference, SC, and you have to travel now if you're a Midwest team all the way west. Those SEC teams never get on, never have a five-hour flight. All these Penn State's going to have to fly at some point. Oregon, to L.A. Or vice versa. So it's a harder travel conference, and I think it's a better conference at the top.

So he's absolutely right. And I love it. We got the Indiana schedule on the screen. So, you know, when you start dropping these non-conference matchups, this is what you're left with. In September, August and September, they're facing O.D.U. At home, they'll be favored by three touchdowns. Kennesaw State. They'll be favored by, I don't know, 30.

And then Indiana State, all at home as a tune-ups before Illinois. But you're right, they do have to go cross-country to Oregon. Well, look at this. They face after those cupcakes, Illinois is good. It's the best Illinois football team in 20 years. Illinois brings 16 starters back. Yeah. At Iowa, at Oregon.

Those are, first of all, Iowa's got a chance if they get breaks and stay healthy to win 10 games. So Illinois, at Iowa, Oregon, that's a brutal three-game strike. At Oregon, you're talking about a four-hour flight. So once again, SEC teams never have to do that. Then they have to fly all the way to Maryland. Then it's to Penn State. This conference now is in four time zone or three time zones. No, I think you might be right, in four, right?

Yeah. Oh, no, wait, well, whatever. But basically, that's a tough schedule. I applaud the jab at the SEC and the lack of non-conference matchups. I like it. Jay McLaughlin News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Lie News. Man, we got some stuff today. We got some stuff. We're going to go to Minnesota Vikings. Albert Breer, a lot of stuff going on. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news.

What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.

But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

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

Because that's two different. intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure,

and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending,

opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports. 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 Slicelife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Saturday, it's baseball night in America, and it's showtime as Show Hey Otani leads the Dodgers against the Red Sox or the Guardians take on the Royals. Check local listings for the game in your area Saturday at 7 Eastern on Fox. Well, he begins his journey through the camps. Albert Breer now with the Vikings is joining us live. Monday morning quarterback. Well, let's just start with the Vikings. You know, I've said this.

The division's interesting. The Lions lose both coordinators. You can use Philadelphia as an example. And that loaded roster, they lost two great coordinators, didn't hit home runs on the hires, and were reeling by Thanksgiving. So most people don't think Detroit's, even the odds makers, are going to be quite as daunting. Green Bay, well, we don't really know exactly what Jordan Love is. He regressed, some of it injuries, and they also drafted a wide receiver first round,

putting into question how much they like all these young receivers. Then you have the bears, we don't know, but we're hopeful with Ben Johnson. Then there's the Vikings, that we love almost everything, except we don't know what in the world we have with J.J. McCarthy. I mean, we like the receivers, the O-line, the coach, the GM, everything. J.J. McCart, what are you hearing and seeing? So I would say, like, mentally and physically last year was really difficult on him, and he went through a lot in dealing with a knee injury,

and they did things creatively over the course theater try to involve him. He started traveling with the team at the end of October. you remember their game with the Rams there that the Rams won in pretty dramatic fashion in Los Angeles. So they tried to, again, make up for everything they were losing and make up for some of the struggles that he went through by engaging with him at the end of last year. And then the year ended, and I think there was some question, you know, his weight had dropped. And, you know, again, he had been through a lot. And where is he? You know, and really from that point forward, JJ has been around. He's been engaged and he's been such a huge part of everything they do. And, you know, look, like I think the reality is all you got to do is look back at it, right?

Like they were looking for an insurance policy on this. And they were going to bring back Sam Darnold for a year. But Darnold got more of a commitment from the Seahawks. And they were going to look at bringing back Daniel Jones at $15 million, which is a huge expenditure for a backup and let Daniel Jones compete. but DJ obviously saw the better opportunity to win a job there in Indianapolis. So I'm not telling you here that the whole offseason, it's been like gung-ho, JJ McCarthy, let's go.

You know, there was the Aaron Rogers thing too. But gradually, they've seen those signs, and they've seen who he is as an athlete, and they've seen him take a little bit more of a step as a leader. And so I think they're cautiously optimistic about where they are with JJ. Like you said, this is a team that is good. so many areas. The defense is coming back and adds on the interior, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. On offense, really the only weakness that team was the interior of the offensive line. Christian Daryasov, of course, is coming back at left tackle, so that'll answer the tackle question,

but the interior of that offensive line brings in, you know, three new starters. And so I think where they are on offense defense, it's a program that should be firing on all cylinders. And, you know, with what we've seen Kevin O'Connell do with Kirk Cousins and then Sam Darnold over the last three years, I think there's a lot of reason for hope that J.J. McCarthy is going to be a really good player in his first year to start. You know, I'm going to throw this comp out. You may think it's crazy, but for most of my life, the Kansas City Chiefs were very good, very well-run. And then they got Andy Reed and Mahomes, and they're a dynasty. I honestly think the NFC version of the Chiefs is Minnesota. my whole life they've been well owned well run they've got their Andy Reid in my opinion

they just don't have the quarterback but most of your life in my life you like their GM they had good players they won games I mean Kirk cousins won half his games against Darren Rogers but so I feel like they're just that franchise that just needs the peace so you cross your fingers if you're a Vikings fan now um George Pickens is now the second Steeler to publicly criticize the offensive architecture of the Steelers. So, Naji Harris came out and said when he went to the Chargers, Pittsburgh just didn't use me. Pickens comes out and says, what a breath of fresh air to be in Dallas.

They are using my wide range of skills. It's easy for me to criticize Mike Tomlin. But he just signed an extension. So the division now is exceptionally well-run Baltimore, Joe Burrow, Cleveland's going to be bad. Is Toblin under any heat in Pittsburgh at all if this thing is ugly? I don't think he's going to get fired. You know, and I think everybody understands what the score is there.

This is one last run, maybe two last runs with the core that they've built around guys like T.J. Watt and Cam Hayward. And let's see if we can get past the point where our nine or ten win team sneaking into the playoffs and then losing our first playoff game. And so if Aaron Rogers works out, if Jalen Ramsey works out, if Darius Slay works out, if T.J. Watt is still T.J. Watt, I think the basis of a team that can compete at that level is there, but there are a lot of ifs involved. That said, if they get to the end of the year and that hasn't worked out, again, I don't think he's getting fired. But if you look at it, you say we're going to go through an organizational reset. then I think a few things probably organically happen, right? It's the conversation between Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan and the Rooney's over what direction the organization is going. I think organically you'd have interests from other teams coming in and saying, do we want to take a swing and offer a draft pick for Mike Tomlin?

So, like, I think whether it happens in 2026 or 2027, there's a reset slash rebuild coming. And one of the operative questions on that when you're looking at it, is having a coach who's been there for almost two decades. Does he still want to be here? Do we still want him here? And does he fit where we're going? Or has this all sort of run its course?

So again, I don't think a firing is in the offing. But like I certainly think whenever that inevitable reset comes, with all these older players in the roster, whenever that inevitable rebuild comes, those big picture questions have to be asked. And I think they will be asked. again, whether that happens this year, whether that happens at the end of this year or the end of next year.

Okay, one of our favorite people, Albert Brewer. One question, two and a half minutes left. I don't know why I care. I'm fascinated with the Cleveland Browns quarterback situation. I'm ashamed of myself, but I do care. What are you here? So I would say Joe Flackle more or less got a first round by through this spring. Okay.

He's going to be part of the quarterback competition. He didn't get a ton of reps in the spring that was by design. So he is in it. Kenny Pickett showed some athleticism. They're going to have to run a little bit of a different offense if it's Pickett in there versus Flacco. So he's in it. As for the rookies, I mean, Dylan Gabriel came out of the box and looked like a guy who played six years in college. His feel, his instincts, all of that is good.

He picked up the offense fast. The question with him is always going to be sealing. It's like how far can you go with him as your quarterback? But because of the athlete he is, you'd be looking at building an offense if it were Gabriel that would be a little bit more like Pickett. So if Pickett's the starter, Gabriel would make some sense as the backup. And then you have Chador, who was pretty far behind when he first got there. And so the question now becomes, has he caught up enough to be a part of a legitimate quarterback competition? And I think it's hard to, not impossible, but hard when you get to July and August to run four.

guys out there with the first team and maybe a little unfair to the other 10 guys in the huddle. Eventually, you have to build a team. This can't be just a big quarterback derby through training camp. So if they don't have it narrowed down that first practice, I think Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Reese and those guys are going to have to narrow it down. As it stands, I think at the end of the spring, Shadur Sanders was still fourth. And whether or not he could catch up enough to be part of the competition, because I know everybody wants to know about Shadu'u'u. I think that's a fair question to ask now. Again, I think Gabriel is steady in what they thought they were getting with them.

And then, you know, with the two veterans, it sort of comes down to who you want to be offensively and what they can bring to the table. But now, you know, they're going to get a real look at Flacco versus Pickett and Camp for the first time because they didn't really get the side-by-side look going back to April and May and June. Monday morning quarterback Albert Breyer. Excellent stuff. I'm little jealous. I'd love to watch J.J. McCarthy.

Cautiously optimistic is what Albert said. Great seeing you, my man. All right, thanks, Colin. Cautiously optimistic. No, it's just we talked about this yesterday. His fourth quarter quarterback rating was not good in college, playing from behind, not good in college. Wasn't a great late-game quarterback in high-leverage situations.

Jaden Daniels was. So I didn't have a GM who liked J.J. over J.N. Daniels. And I like Bo Nix over J.J. McCarthy. So I'm just fast. I mean, I love the coach. I like the GM. I like the old line and receivers. Hey guys, it's us.

The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. 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. their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment,

and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on,

a Mormon polygamist, and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferrari's and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.