The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Russell Wilson, NFL Injuries

Episode Date: September 2, 2022

Brian Noe, Rich Ohrnberger, and Geoff Schwartz react to Russell Wilson getting a huge extension with the Denver Broncos. The guys examine what an expanded College Football Playoff field could do for the sport. Plus, what team has taken the biggest loss on their offensive line over preseason?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show.

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From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

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Oh, what's going on? Welcome in. Brian, no. Jeff Schwartz, Rich Ornberger with you this morning. In for the herd. Very excited to be here. I'm imagining, Jeff, that Rich is still smiling ear to ear after his alma mater, Penn State, with a come from behind win in the final minute.

And the call from Gus Johnson. Yes. Yes, the full touchdown Penn State! Rich, you've got to be just giddy this morning, buddy. Dude, my lions! How about it? How about me now? I loved it. Dude, when college football shines, it's like no other sport because the urgency in the regular season, it cannot be compared. It's just every single game matters. If you want to win a national title, you can't have any blemishes.

You certainly can't go to West Lafayette and drop on game one. That is going to hurt you and haunt you. you all season long. So a four-point victory, I don't care how ugly it looked. I mean, there was vomit on the field by the end of the game. A win's a win, guys. Yes, I love what Joe Klatte was saying as far as the vomit goes, where it's like, man, you can tell he really ran hard on that return over there. By the way, Jeff Schwartz, what do you think the chances are that you're smiling from ear to ear with your Oregon ducks winning tomorrow? And me smiling year to year. I didn't go to Notre Dame, but I'm from South Bend. What do you think our chances are

to be as giddy as rich? I think we're going to be in the same boat tomorrow, buddy. We're going to be happy our teams played tough and played well for long stretches of the game, but in the end, the other team was too much. I'm in Atlanta right now. I'm going to the game. I live in Charlotte, so the ducks are never on the East Coast. I cannot wait to go to this game tomorrow, but my hope, and this is like a, it's weird to say this is a former player because I'm obviously, I know that anything can happen on Saturday and Sunday, or Thursday night, we saw last night, but Rich and Brun. I just hope it's close for like three quarters. Like, like, give me, like, give me that.

Like, I got my kids coming into the game, you know, it's a whole to do. Like, just give me three quarters of like competitive football for the Ducks, which, look, defensively, guys, I know Georgia has, you know, Kaylee Ringo and Nolan Smith and Jenin Carter, Oregon has multiple guys going the first round on their defense. Noah Sewell, Christian Gonzalez, possibly Brandon Doris, and there's, you know, other defensive end, DJ Johnson's part of the second round pick. Like, Oregon's got dudes. And so I think it'll be close for a while, and it would be unlikely, in my opinion, that we win this game.

You know, when you said, I think we'll be in the same boat, I thought you meant we'd be in the same boat as Rich. And you're like, no, just the same boat is hopefully keeping it close for three quarters. Not everyone can open up with the mighty boilermakers, okay? I mean, not everyone can have Purdue on the road as a warm-up game. Some of us have to play Ohio State and Georgia to get going. But, you know, congratulations, Rich. I'm glad for your beat the boilermakers. But some of us have some big dog work to do this weekend.

Yeah, you guys, you got Yeoman's work ahead of you. There's no question for ND in Oregon both. But, you know, I look at that game and it's the best of the worst, kind of. Right? So you play awful, right? You really play down to competition. You play on the road. It's in front of a national audience, but you get the win.

Jeff, I don't know about you, but over the course of my career, I hated to win games like that, but I learned the most about the teams I was playing for in games like that. And you didn't mind it because you got the win. You survived the day. And then you get to work on some stuff and you get better for it. Look, I'd never take for granted a win, right? I mean, we know that.

It's hard to win a football games. And so going on the road in week one when Purdue has obviously had so much time to prepare for what you're going to be. But I think you saw improvements, especially if you're Penn State. Like your offensive line was better. It looked better than last year, right? Like things looked like Clifford's an up and down guy, but in the end, he made those big play. So, yeah, look, you, you won when every game. You take away a lot from these close wins and losses.

But W's, man, I mean, you need those early on. I don't really care how you get it done sometimes. Those style points, you know, they add up throughout the season that they don't have to happen in week one. By the way, we're very excited to announce two brand new football pregame shows on Fox Sports Radio. It begins tomorrow. Make sure you tune in. It's the debut of Countdown to Kickoff presented by BetMGM.

It'll take you right up to kickoff. Catch me, Brian, though. Also, Penn State, All-American, Rich Ornberger. That sounds very professional right there. It really does, and I am not a professional. I've got to be honest with you. I've seen you eat a burrito before, buddy. You eat burritos in unprofessional ways.

From the middle. Yeah, trust me. That's right. We also have Picks-wise lead betting analyst, Jared Smith. So that's tomorrow 9 a.m. until noon. time that's 6 to 9 a.m. Pacific. The best football tailgate party and preview in the nation will also have starting Sunday the 11th for week one of the NFL. We launch our pro football

countdown to kickoff show presented by BetMGM. So tune in every Sunday, three hours right before kickoff. So we're talking 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the East Coast, 7 to 10 a.m. Pacific. It's with yours truly eight-year NFL veteran, Jeff Schwartz. Again, very professional sounding. That is fancy. Wow. And our man, Crack, professional sports better, Bill Crackenberger. So listen right here to Fox Sports Radio, Saturdays and Sundays, leading you right up to kickoff presented by BetMGM.

So giving you a little taste this morning, Brian Noah alongside Jeff Schwartz and Rich Ornberger. How about we dive into the Russell Wilson contract extension here, fellas? So five years, $245 million, but you read the fine print, $165 million guaranteed. And my first thought is it's not so much about Russ and the Broncos. It's more so about the quarterback market. Do you think this makes things any easier for the Ravens who are up next trying to hammer out a deal with Lamar Jackson? Yeah, because of the caliber of the player that the Broncos just were able to get under contract for less than the value of the prior to contract signed at the position this offseason.

You know, if you look at the Deshawn deal, which nobody is trying to replicate from a team standpoint, and everybody's pissed at the Browns for, and you'll look at the Kyler deal, the guaranteed or cash money that is going to be given to Ross is something inferior to those, right? And I think I theorize the reason they did this, and I'm talking about Russell's camp, is because they kind of did them a solid. They saved them from Seattle. It's kind of a sinking ship out there. They got Gino Smith starting now. I think he didn't want to survive the rebuild there, and he was looking for an opportunity. So as part of the trade talks, there was probably a conversation like, hey, if we get you in here, you're going to have to give us a break on this extension.

We want you long term, but you're going to have to work with us here. And I think Danger Russ said, yeah, I'll play ball. Russell Wilson has always kind of played ball, right? I mean, that's been one of his things that I think teams like about him. It's something that we saw yesterday, some reaction from an agent was like, yeah, this is what he did in Seattle, right? He kind of undercut a little bit of the opportunity for other players, because he could have easily said, I want a fully guaranteed contract, right?

He could have easily done that, and I think Broncos would have had to do it. They have a brand new owner, and they want to spend money, obviously. When a new owner comes in, they want to solidify their quarterback spot. And this helps the Ravens, right? Because if you're Lamar Jackson, you say, I want $231 million guaranteed. Deshaun Watson got $2.30. He's not one of MVP. There were 30 allegations against them.

Hasn't played in a year. The Browns gave him $2.30. Lamar, MVP, seems like a great guy, continuing to go up in his career and leader, all those things, right? Like the things you'd want of any quarterback in the NFL, and he's going to say, hey, Ravens, I want that. But now we've seen two straight deals, whether it's Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson, where that was not the case. And so Russell Wilson's deal is great for him, good for the Broncos.

Like, it's all good there. But from the bigger picture of, does it help other NFL players in his position? The answer is no. And this is why the stalemate is happening with the Ravens and Lamar Jackson because he's asking for one thing. And he's saying, I deserve this. The Ravens saying, oh, well, no one else is paying that. And that's where we're at right now.

And Rich, I think an agent would be helpful for him just because there is this awkward kind of negotiation right now where the Ravens are saying, hey, to his face. Hey, Lamar, you're not worth what I think you're, what you think you're worth. The agent's a little bit of a buffer there. I'm not saying he needs one to get this done. That's kind of why you have one in this spot. I wonder if he had one, if a deal would be done or not by now.

Buddy, I 1,000% agree with you. 1,000% agree with you. Like, when my car breaks down, I'm not popping the hood in the drive layer, putting the car on ramps and trying to fix him myself. I'm bringing it to a mechanic. When my teeth hurt, guess who I'm going to? A dentist.

When I'm contract negotiations come up, I'm bringing. my stuff to an agent during my NFL career who can help me sort this out and be that professional buffer you're talking about. So I wasn't lacking confident because they were comparing me to like, I don't know, the 60th best guard in the league. That would suck. It would suck to hear that. So Brian, I mean, do you, when your teeth hurt, do you go to the dentist or do you drill your own? I mean, what is your take on Lamar doing his own thing here with the contract? No, I'm with you guys. And it's a good point because these conversations

are being had between Lamar and the Ravens. And they can both make good points, but it's uncomfortable to have these conversations with one another and not with an agent who just relays it to Lamar Jackson. Think about it. Baltimore can say, hey, Russell Wilson just got 165 guaranteed. We can't give you 200 million guaranteed Lamar. And Lamar can come back and say,

oh, you mean the guy who's never gotten one single MVP vote while I want it unanimously? and they can come back and say, oh yeah, you mean the guy who's won a Super Bowl while you're one in three in the playoffs? They're having those conversations with one another. That's as uncomfortable as it gets. You're exactly right.

And that's why the agent can be the buffer. And agents can take far less than 3%. We know that. So I think that nothing's going to be done during the season. There's just they're not going to, it's not going to happen, in my opinion, during the season. And then the offseason becomes a situation where the Ravens are going to say, hey, franchise tag or sign this deal.

and I think he'll end up being franchise tagged. And I do wonder if teams call the Ravens for him. And I think there will be teams that call. And I don't know if the Ravens are going to do it because you have to start over again. But it is the draft to do it. There's a bunch of quarterbacks in 2023. But Rich, I feel like teams will call. Hey, hey, you know, Miami, you know, if two doesn't work out, hey, you know, what will

take you take two first round picks obviously if you're franchised. Two first round picks and a 230 guaranteed, Dolphins might be in for that. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Look, there's going to be interest. There's no question about it. And that may be the designs of the Ravens. Like, hey, look, if we can get this guy for a song and we can hold him down for at least two more years of all this electricity, great. But he's kind of a bean pole. Let's be honest. He hasn't put on much weight since he's entered the NFL. And you're nervous about the injury situation because it's bit them. And it bit them last year hard. Now, the running backs room didn't help. I mean, they were devastated to the point where they were calling up Levian Bell and asking. him if he could put a pause on his rap career to jump in the fold. And so there's that too. But Lamar Jackson, he can carry water if there's injuries elsewhere. Yes. And this is a loaded up draft class coming up for quarterbacks coming out of college football.

So if the Ravens want to get some draft capital, which, by the way, will come in handy, and look forward to the 2023 season at some point this year, I can see it. Look, am I sold that that's going to happen? No, but if this contract negotiation goes sideways to Brian, I can squint and see an outcome where he is playing for a different team at some point. Yeah, possibly. I just think the reaction between Russ and Lamar, what they did last season, it's so different.

It stands out to me because Russ had a down year. He was banged up and his numbers took a bit of a hit. Lamar was banged up and his numbers took a big hit. Yet what you mostly hear about Russ is like, I don't know. lost his step. I don't know if he's special anymore. And Lamar, it's the opposite. It's like, you've got to give him 200 million guaranteed. It's just weird how that's played out between Russ and Lamar, the general reaction to both of those guys. I will say this though, because, and this is the truth, in my opinion, and Jeff, you could correct me if I'm wrong. I feel like

the reason why there's that, that, that albatross hanging over Russell Wilson's neck is because dual threat QBs, they start their decline at 30. Pocket quarterbacks, they hit their prime at 30. And so there is that worry. There's an expiration date, and you can extend it if you're a Tom Brady, or if you're a Big Ben who transitions from being a dual threat into a pocket pass or at some point in his career. But I think that's the reason why people are a little worried about Russell Wilson's future.

And it's sort of like, you know, this is the funniest. This came from somebody on Twitter who replied to my tweet about Russell Wilson. Jeff, they go, I feel like this is buying a boat. The happiest day is the first day. You know, I think with, you know, more ways to evaluate quarterbacks publicly, right? I mean, for a long time, obviously, you're just, you know, guys watching the film, right? But now that we have more people that are doing it and we have pro football focus and football outsiders and all these different people that are able to watch a film and analyze it in different ways, we realize that, you know what? Maybe the struggles that he had in Seattle were not all the fault of Pete Carroll, right?

We're not all the fault of the offensive coordinator. And I think we're looking at Russell Wilson saying, hey, you know, immensely talented. I think he throws the best deep ball in all of the NFL. He's going to be a Hall of Famer, right? Super Bowl champion. Like, we know all this stuff. But, you know, pocket presence, not great, right? You know, a couple of years, it was last year, a couple years he threw, he was on pace.

It was two years ago. He was on pace for, you know, like a bazillion yards, six thousand yards passing. And then, you know, he got conservative as he threw some too many interceptions. Like, I think there is a little bit of, we haven't seen. him be this top five to seven guy in a couple of years. I think that's fair to say if you look around the NFL, whether it's even his own division, whether it's Mahomes and Herbert, whether it's even Tom Brady at 45 and Aaron Rogers and Josh Allen, right?

I mean, he's not, so Walton's not in the top five anymore of quarterbacks. You know, never got an MVP vote. Things like this. So I think these things start adding up where people are saying, hey, maybe it wasn't all of Pete Carroll's fault. I do think a large part of it is Pete Carroll's fault. for not, you know, using him in ways that I think suit him better. I think in Denver in that offense especially, he'll be used well.

But that's, I think, the question mark where Lamar is so young still. He's so young and he won an MVP so early in his career that I think a lot of people root for him to continue his upward climb to the NFL. All right. It's Brian No, Rich Ornberger, Jeff Schwartz, with you here today, in for the herd. Coming up next, there's a change that could help fix college football's greatest problem. That's on the way. Keep it locked right here on Fox Sports Radio. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross

double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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

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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? It's Brian No.

Jeff Schwartz and Rich Ornberger in for The Horde today on Fox Sports Radio. Think about it. Your happy place. Maybe it's your sofa on game day. maybe it's your fishing boat. Wherever your happy place is, driveway.com lets you buy or sell a car from there. All right, fellas. So we've got some college football playoff talk over here.

The board of managers, they are holding a virtual meeting today. Could accelerate playoff expansion as early as 2024. Can you hear the joy in my voice? Are you guys excited for playoff expansion? Where do you stand on it? Yeah. Jeff, right? I mean, it's got to happen.

I am excited for it because it basically saves my conference, the Pact 12 conference, from extinction, because now with the automatic qualifier, which would essentially happen, there's more incentive to stay, right? Like, if you're Oregon or Washington, and I'm not sure the Big Ten even wants those teams, you know, it's like, okay, well, now we can stay in the playoff. You know, we make a playoff every other year in the Pact 12 conference or Pact 10, whatever they're going to do, and it gives us more incentive to stay, right? will make more money that way instead of going to the Big Ten

where it becomes probably more difficult to make the playoffs. However, however, I've made this argument for a while now, and I feel like I'm right on this. The Pac-12, because I obviously am a Pac-12 guy, really, this is for any team that's not Alabama or Georgia or Ohio State, it is going to be much more difficult for any one of those schools that doesn't have, you know, 85% blue-chip talent to win four playoff games to win a championship.

Like if you're Oregon right now, a 14-playoff benefits your opportunity to win a championship more than 12-team playoff does. It's two games in a 14-playoff. We've seen it happen before. You beat Florida State. They look terrible, and we lost Ohio State, obviously. Now a team like Oregon or anyone else, Baylor or Oklahoma or Michigan, anyone else, Penn State, Rich, like you're going to have to win three to four games now against, one against Alabama, one against Georgia, one against Ohio State. That just feels too much for me.

And so it's good for the sport. It'll open things up for the sport. We'll have more playoff teams, more excitement, more joy when it comes to the postseason. But it really doesn't change who wins the championship in the end. Well, I'll argue and I'll put up this argument. It's not the NBA and it's not baseball. These aren't series. These are single games.

And we know that mistakes are so amplified in the urgency of a football playoff. We see it all the time in the NFL. Where the Bengals is the best team or the second best team in the NFL this year? No. They weren't. but they survive the playoff bracket, and that's what you have to do, advance. Survive and advance. So I agree with you.

Are there going to be just slaughter fest on certain football weekends as we make our way through the bowl circuit in the playoffs and get to the national title? Sure, but it just gives a team like a Cincinnati a chance. They had a chance. They got smoked. That's my point. We have seen, rarely we have seen a close semifinal game. And the upsets in the semifinal round had been like Ohio State being Alabama. I think of what upset is that, right?

Like that's what it's like, yeah, Cincinnati will get in now, they'll get more often, but they're going to get their butts kick still. But I'll scratch your itch and I'll say this. Like how about like, you know, some of the recent on the outsides looking in from the Pact 12, like, you know, Washington or just out of that, you know, those coveted spots of Utah. Like, you know, you could sneak some teams in who, yeah, maybe they're not a group of five team like a Cincinnati or a San Diego State who's coming off a 12-win season, you know,

and they were being discussed a little bit, right? It's just, it just gives opportunity for some of those major FBS programs who are just getting snuffed out of the playoff conversation who can get in and they can get a solid win in the first round and sort of come out of nowhere. And maybe with that confidence and the urgency of the postseason, win an unexpected championship. It's happened before.

It's happened before. I'm with you with it. things up for more teams to be in, and there is a chance for an upset, one upset, right? But again, if you're trying to make multiple wins, that feels unlikely. But, again, there's positives for this. It will help recruiting, I would imagine. And it will keep conferences together. Again, like, we're seeing this conference relaying stuff.

It not makes me nauseous because I can't, I talk about it every day on my Pactiol show, and it's so exhausting to talk about it every single day. Yeah. But it really does help because, again, if you're looking at, like, if you're the the four corner schools in the PAC 12, or you're the Big 12, like there's an incentive now to keep your conferences together and keep them smaller because you're guaranteed the playoffs. Again, UCLA is going to have less of an opportunity in the Big Ten to make a playoff that they stayed out west.

No doubt about it, even with the 12th team playoff. And this allows you the opportunity now to say, hey, Utah, Oregon, Washington, whoever's going to win out west, maybe the Aztex join the Pac-12 conference. It allows one of those schools to make it where USC is probably left out because they're in the Big Ten now. I don't know if this is going to appeal to Jeff, Rich, but you might buy this. We'll see. This is what I'm thinking, because if you look at parity, it's the great strength of the NFL.

Like you're pointing out, Rich, the Bengals end up in the Super Bowl, and it's like, whoa, where did this come from? If you look at college football, we complain about the lack of parity all the time. It's, it's Bama, it's George's, wake us up when the playoff is around, right? Like, we do that all the time. I look at it like this. if the format in college football, just four teams in the playoff, if we had that in the NFL,

I think we would complain about a lack of parity a lot more than we do. To your point, like, we wouldn't have had the Rams or the Bengals, even in the playoffs, if it was just the top four teams. And those were the two teams in the Super Bowl. We wouldn't have had the Niners in the NFC title game. They were a sixth seed. So I'm not expecting if it expands to 12 teams in college football for like, you temp.

to win a national championship or all of a sudden we've got parity galore. But I think it would help with the perception. And of course there would be some upsets from time to time. You're not going to get some of these teams to come out of nowhere, like the Bengals of college football winning a championship. But I think it would help with parity to some degree. There would be upsets. And you wouldn't have the same thing over and over again.

There would be some head-to-head upsets. And I think with more teams making the play, off, maybe making a little bit noise, falling short, not winning at all. It would help with that. A great deal, I really believe. And Brian, you're making a fantastic point. I'll add to it. And Jeff, and it's not your fault or my fault.

I do it too. Like, I get handcuffed to the moment. And I just think like this year or the next two years. But longitudinally, this will help conferences like the PAC 12 programs that are on the outside looking in year after year after year. And they're trying to get into a top four where they can't. but with 12 they will. And what happens after three years is you are a consistent playoff contender.

And I just need you, recruit that I'm talking to in the living room with mom and dad. You're going to be the player that takes us over the edge. And we're going to get you some name image and likeness deals. If you come out and you play for the Utes or the Ducks or the Huskies, it's you, you're the reason, you're the turning point. This is where our stretch of losses in the postseason stop. And our program reaches the destiny that it's granted. Like that's, to me, it's the pitch.

It's the couch pitch that all these coaches are looking for and they need college football playoffs to expand in order to do it. But the gatekeepers like Sabin and Davo and Day, like they're saying, no, we want to be at the top of the mountain every single year. We don't want to share the recruits. We get to pound our chest and say, it's ours. Then the next question, the recruits are going to ask is how much you're going to pay me? So, like, I don't know.

It's a great, great. great pitch. So what am I getting from the collective now? How much is that, what's that checking to be? So, I mean, it sounds great and everything. But that's, the top 300 players are not being recruited based on a national championship pitch. They're being recruited on how much money can I make in a engine like this. All right. It's Brian No, Jeff Schwartz, Rich Ornberger, in for The Herd today. Let's invite Ryan music in here. Let's get to the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. Good morning, gentlemen. Great to be here with you. Let's kick it off with some NFL, shall we?

One of the big stories this week, surprising announcement, where Jimmy Garapolo and the 49ers agreed on a new restructured contract, keeping him in San Francisco to serve as Tray Lance's backup this season. Well, for the first time since that announcement, Jimmy spoke to the media, and here's what he had to say about that decision. I think things worked out for the best. It was a lot of ups and downs, Rocky Roads here and there, but I think, throughout the whole thing. Me, I'm happy with where I'm at, happy to be with the Niners. I think the Niners are happy to have me back, and I think things are working out pretty well. Why didn't you at any point to say, hey, I've done some good stuff here, release me, let me go find a place? Well, that just wasn't the way I wanted to go. I think there was a thought of that at one point. Trust me, there was. But that came and went, and I don't know, things just kind of kept falling into place.

and I'm one of those people that, you know, I don't want to really ruffle the feathers too much here and there and kind of want to just go with the flow. And that's kind of the way the training camp was going and I was happy with it. And like I said, things worked out and I'm happy now. Look, Jimmy G's handsome. He can say what he wants to say. The reality is he ended up in San Francisco because he didn't really have any other options on the table at the time. I got no place else to go. I'm so sick at the positivity here.

It reminds me of like going to Vegas with your. buddies and it's just like, it's going to be amazing. They're going to be girls all over the place. We're going to win thousands of dollars. It doesn't live up to that. That's what I'm hearing from the Niners. It's the best of both worlds. We've got Trey Lance starting.

Jimmy G's waiting in the wings just in case everybody's ecstatic. It's obnoxious. This is a terrible decision to keep him on the roster. I'm with you. Listen, I think it's good for Jimmy G. I think it's good for the 49ers. I think this is the worst. case scenario for Tray Lance. I remember the Tebow chance out in New York when Sanchez was stinking

it up for parts of seasons when the Jets had those two who could be starters nobody knew. Well, you're going to have the same situation in 49erland. Yeah, it's not exactly the same because I think Carson Wentz had a little bit of his own issues, if you will, but it does feel very Carson Wence Nick Folesish. Yeah. Like you have the veteran there who won a lot of games, but then you have the young guy that you're like, he's going to play. And then as soon as one thing goes wrong, everyone's going to be like, well, we've seen the backup win a lot of games before. So maybe we need to turn the page back to him. I'll tell you this real quickly, too, is this is different than, say, Drew Bledso getting replaced by Tom Brady.

And it's during the season, this is the off season. And with the audio you just heard there with Jimmy G saying, trust me, I thought about saying, release me, get me out of here. If you don't say that, I don't want you as my quarterback. I don't want you just sitting there like, you know, we're just seeing how things. things play out and they're just going with Trey Lance, totally unproven. It's cool. Just got to a Super Bowl, got to the NFC title game. But whatever. They're working it out. Have a backbone is what I say. I don't want you as my QB if you're willing to take that. And by the way, is there a more chantable name than Jimmy G? Jimmy G. Like you are going to hear that

at Levi's at some point this season. I feel bad for Trey Lance. Born Berger. That was it. Right? Fend state, that was a huge one. There you go. Oh, yeah. Let's keep it in the NFL. We're always excited. Football's coming back this time of year, but I do have to share some bad news. We see it all the time, training camp injuries. Titans are losing their star pass rusher. Harold Landry for the season after tearing his ACL.

He had a career high 12 sacks last season, the most for a Titans player since 2015. Obviously a huge impact on that defense, which really helped propel the team forward when they lost the step, losing Derek Henry. It does feel like the AFC South is wide open at this point, though. Boy, is that good news for Matt Ryan and his old bones, huh? I mean, he's got a great offensive line, but when you look around that division,

you think, like, well, who's really standing in the way? No one. No one. The Jags are rebuilding. The Houston Texans are a mess. The Titans sack Joe Burrow nine times in a playoff game, but without Landry, you can turn your attention elsewhere. So this helps the Colts immeasurably. Yep.

Yeah, it does. And you know, it's funny. I've got a theory, guys, where I think the teams that crashed and burned in the playoffs. There are a lot of people that are really down on them, like the Titans. Titans lost at home to the Bengals. The Colts didn't even make it to the playoffs. And I think that just generally, people are more likely to be higher on teams that didn't

even get there, like the Saints, like the Colts. I know it is it just. Like the Chargers? 14 win Chargers this year. Yeah. I know it's not just based on that. Their other factors, Matt Ryan's there in Indy, no A.J. Brown. But I think that's a big part of the equation.

Listen, for those people who listen to the herd regularly, Colin is very high on the Vikings, another team that missed out on the playoffs. You know, they've got an offensive head coach now. Another team that he's saying is going to be the biggest 12, 13 win team this year. How about the Cowboys won 12 games last year? Oh, gosh, Cowboys, get them out of here. Come on. You know what, I'm not polishing shoes, but I agree about the Vikings.

Oh, no. Listen, hang on. Hang on. Hang on. All right, listen. What are you going to start telling me U.S.C.'s a national contender too? You better buy me an out first. Well, on this show, we love to say anything else than that?

I don't know. Listen. Where your hat forward, right? Yeah. Next thing? I look at, so I played with Kevin O'Connell in New England, and that dude was a genius and just a great communicator. And I loved this personality.

I think it translates well as a coach. And you saw what he did with the office. in short order with the Rams. I'm a believer. I really am. And from standpoint of Dag Prescott, I don't know why, man. He just forces me to think that the Dallas Cowboys can be better

than they are every single season. And I'm not sure why. Maybe it's just a face I could trust. You know how some people got a punchable face? But I'm a buyer on Minnesota. I'm a buyer on Dallas because I just trust the face. I do.

It's a t-shirt right there. Trust the face. Minnesota is going to be a playoff team, right? Are they going to win 12 or 13 games? Probably not. But in the NACD, they'll be a playoff team. The Cowboys, here's the problem. I'm with you, Rich.

I get sucker in every year. Cowboys, God, look at the talent they have. But let's talk about this, right? They have a coach that's untrustworthy. You cannot trust Mike McCarthy ever in any situation. They're a highly penalized team. Never good, right? Not going to a lot of doing that.

They currently have lost a Hall of Fame left tackle, and they're replacing him with a rookie who's taking zero snaps in the preseason and left tackle. They're putting against Tampa Bay in week one, right? They have a defense that is going to have regression. It's just going to be that way. It's the way the NFL is every year. Your defense, if you force a bunch of turnovers one year,

but next year, typically, you don't force as many. They're just not going to be the same team this year. The Eagles team is loaded. Jalen Hertz will find out. Giants will be a little bit better. Washington. I'd never trust Carson Went, so I don't trust Washington. So the Cowboys are going to be in the playoff hunt.

Now, they're not going to go further than that because of what we just mentioned. Offens a line. issues, coaching issues, defense issues, but they look good on paper. And Jerry Jones talks a big game, obviously, he's the owner. Like, there's reasons why we buy into them each year, but they're not going to do it in the NFC this year. I know, but I just can yeah, butt you to death because NFC is so weak. You know, and in terms of the wild card hunt with an expanded wild card, I could see

him sneaking in there. You know, if the Dallas Cowboys played in the AFC, I'd say you're 1,000% right. But I just, I see them sneaking in this. year. And us, you know, again, I'm, I buy DAC stock every year and I'm just like, you know, is it an NFT or are we actually going to the moon? I don't know. It's steady. It's steady. I don't know you're going to go to the moon, but it's steady. It's not going to plummet. Not going to drop out from underneath you. All right. Coming up next year, which team have you lost more confidence in? I'll give you a couple of teams to select from. I'm Brian No, along with

Jeff Schwartz and Rich Ornberger. We're in for the herd today on Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to Live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben, host to The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor. It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen?

Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry, in media, sports and more every week. Explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Beller. Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for Raw, filtered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at a podcast. I'm Sam Jek.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what you? went down and tried to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it 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, Keir Gaines, as we have. real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Brian, no, alongside Rich Orneberger, Jeff Schwartz, in for the herd today on Fox Sports Radio. By the way, we're excited to announce two brand new football pregame shows on Fox Sports Radio. It begins tomorrow. It's the debut of Countdown to Kickoff presented by BetMGM. Take it right up to kickoffs with me. me, also Rich Ornberger, that Penn State All-American, right over there.

And Picks-wise lead betting analyst Jared Smith, that's tomorrow from 9 a.m. Eastern to noon on the West Coast, 6 to 9 a.m. Pacific. The best tailgate party and preview in the nation. And then also Sunday the 11th. Week 1 of the NFL, we will launch our pro football countdown to kickoff show. It's presented by BetMGM. Tune in on Sundays. 10 to 1 p.m. Eastern time right up to kickoff, featuring yours truly 8-year NFL veteran Jeff Schwartz and professional sports better. Bill Krakenberger. We call him crack.

We'll have them on today, actually. So listen right here to Fox Sports Radio on Saturdays and Sundays, leading you right up to kickoff presented by BetMGM. Now, you hear this a lot, playing to the audience. I'm going to play to the hosts here. You guys are former offensive line. Ooh. Okay.

Yeah. We are? We've got three teams in the NFL that have suffered significant offensive lineman injuries. Now, I'm going to pinpoint these three teams, among others. Like you have Mackay Beckton with the Jets, but these teams, people think they might do something this year. So if you think of Tampa, all their interior offensive linemen injuries and issues, the Cowboys losing Tyrant Smith, the Saints losing their left tackle rookie Trevor Penning. between the Bucks, the Cowboys, and the Saints,

who have you lost more confident in due to the injuries? So the Saints is not a problem because Hurst was starting, I think it left tackle anyway. So, I mean, it's not good to have your rookie hurt, but that's not as much of concern. Tampa Bay with Tom Brady, obviously we know he needs that offense align, but I feel like he can figure things out long enough

to where Jensen comes back eventually and everything's fine. but to me it's the Cowboys because if you look at the splits in the career of Dak Press Scott with Tyron Smith and without Tyron Smith, it's night and day. It's way over 500 with Smith in the game, and it's under 500 with Smith out of the game. And again, not only that, they drafted a kid out of Tolson in the first round this year, Tyler Smith. And very raw and a guy that kind of lacks technique. However, he was playing much better left guard and I thought he would. He played all preseason left guard.

Now they're moving out to left tackle in week one against Tampa Bay, and they're putting in a left guard who has not been known to be very good in the NFL. They lost their right tackle, who didn't play much last year, but to Cincinnati now. Rich, to me, it's the Cowboys. It's just they want to run the ball. They want to protect Dak. I think the Cowboys offensive line is really going to cost them this year. Yeah, that number, it sticks out like a sore thumb, the splits when Smith is off the field

during the course of Doc Prescott's career where their careers have over. lap here, a thousand percent right there, but I'll say this. Tom Brady, we've never seen him play behind an underperforming offensive line. I mean, maybe one year, possibly two, but even in New England, when it was getting a little bleak

up front, you know, they called Dante Scarnacia back out of the bullpen. They're just like, hey, come on, Dante, we need you. Fix this, please. Fix us. And he did. He came to the rescue. They won a Super Bowl. And so that's not going to be the case this year in Tampa. There are problems up front.

And Jeff, you know this as well as I do, as any offensive lineman knows, especially with a pocket passer. The depth of your pocket is the most important aspect of protecting him. The middle three, your center, your guards, they have to give him room to step up. And that's where they're missing the most pieces. And Worf's even got injured again this offseason. So they've got trouble on the edge too. To me, it's the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is the biggest question

because if you can't relieve middle pressure for Tom Brady, you remember those Ray Lewis, Ravens teams with Ed Reed in the defensive backfield, the reason why he got so many picks against the Patriots and he was able to disguise coverages so well is because Brady had middle pressure and he had to heave it away and he thought people were open and Reed was able to get there. I'm not saying it's going to be the same as that. I'm not going to say it's going to be every game.

But that is a huge concern, especially with a 45-year-old man back there. No, and you're right about that. We even saw last year against the Rams, right, in the playoff game when the offensive line was beat up and wasn't as good what happens. But, you know, don't you feel like with the way Tom can get rid of the ball and the engine of the offense, he'll be okay long enough to get some of these guys back where, you know, Dak Prescott, I just don't truck. don't trust Mike McCarthy to figure out a way.

They haven't been able to do it. No coach able to figure out a way to play without Smith and left tackle. Well, that's where I think it comes back to trust. Like you just said, Jeff, is it's not just the player that's injured. It's the players you have on the team to compensate for the injuries. And that's where I go back to the quarterbacks. I just trust Tom Brady the most. I'd put Dax second in line.

I trust James the least. But they're not supposed to be good, though. So, like, you have to always, when we have these discussions, you have to always look at the expectations for what the team is supposed to be. Like Tampa Bay is trying to win a Super Bowl. Dallas supposedly is trying to win a Super Bowl. Right.

New Orleans, to me, is not a playoff team. So, like, if you think they are, then yeah, having Trevor Penning out is not good. But again, I'm not sure he was going to start. He wasn't starting when he got hurt. So I don't think it changes much of what the Saints are going to be because I don't think they're a playoff team anyways. You're making a really solid point there.

It's expectations. And I guess that's where my brain goes with the Buccaneers, because that is a team where, if all pieces were healthy, you say, well, they're a favorite to win a Super Bowl because it's Tom Brady and it's all the pieces that they have around him and the health of a

continuity up front. That offensive line, mind you played 80% of offensive snaps together last year. Didn't start getting hurt until the postseason and that's when Down Paradise occurred. So I look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out the gates. Look, are they going to win 10 regular season games? Yeah.

Probably 11. They're going to get into the postseason, yeah. But the expectation are win a Super Bowl. When they're playing against the thinned out herd of the postseason bracket against the best pass rushers this league has to present, that's when it's going to get dicey for Tom and where the offensive line is really going to factor and showcase some of their flaws. Yeah, I think it's all relative to whatever expectations you have for these teams, where I'm not expecting the Saints to compete for a Super Bowl like Tampa is. But if I'm thinking, hey, with that defense, with Camara back there,

they can make noise and at least get to double digits as far as wins, get to the playoffs. Yeah, they would be challenging in that area. And so to lose your left tackle, mixed with James Winston, they lost a Hall of Fame quarterback and a Hall of Fame head coach. Like, I think we're not making enough of that in New Orleans. Those are two big losses.

Those are two huge losses. Absolutely right there. They lost a left tackle. They lost a quarterback. corner. They lost another corner. They lost a corner. I just think that there's a, they're missing important pieces. Yeah. All right. Coming up next, there are some huge matchups in college football tomorrow, including a point spread that is just downright disrespectful. We will dive into that next. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman, documented

it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all. all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.