The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Colin's new top 10

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

Colin gives his list of the top 10 NFL teams after free agency  Thoughts on what direction the Giants will go at quarterback  Will the Steelers be trapped if they can't land Aaron Rodgers?   Guest: Nick Wright See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Big 10 championship ratings, the best in like 10 years. College basketball, Caitlin Clark's numbers last year. People may be moving away from pro basketball. They're not moving away from College basketball. Big East ratings were massive for FS1. Huge. Huge. Record setting. Listen, man, college basketball is going to have a great tournament.

You need to start talking more brackets. I talk college basketball two hours yesterday. I know. Listen, I've got to take a lot of credit for that because you're not a big college hoops guy. That's not that I'm not a big college hoops guy. I love my guys. I bring four or five coaches. I love my guys.

But it does feel sometimes like it's a bracket, not a sport. Like, it's all about the bracket. But I will say, if you look at the ratings for these conference championships, people were into them. By the way, St. John's being good is so huge for college basketball because they play some of their games at the garden. Yes. So they kind of flip back and forth. College basketball, New York has always been an unbelievable basketball town. Because in New York, some people are Yankee fans, some are Mets.

Some people are jet fans. They're giants. Everybody's a Nick fan. everybody's a St. John's fan. So, I mean, when Syracuse and St. John were crushing college basketball, I mean, New York was just a mecca. I mean, you have USC, UCLA out here, but there's just, you know, the beach, the weather, the mountains. In New York, the winner of a college, the winner is basketball season, a lot of it. When the Knicks are humming and St. John's is humming, the energy in New York is, it's so good for college basketball.

There's a map floating around the internet, how if you cut the country almost in half, nobody's won a national championship since I think Arizona in like the late 90s. Like nobody West is very good right now. Who's the best West Coast team in college, Uppford? Well, Gonzaga is the most consistently good team. Arizona, I would say, is second. And that's it. All right.

So before I get to Nick Wright, so PFF came out today with the, they ranked all the the rosters one to 32. I'm not going to do that. But I did take free agency and free. agency losses. I considered everything. So we have our coaching moves all set. We have free agency outside of Aaron Rogers. Again, I think he maybe adds a win to wherever he goes, maybe two wins, but I don't think he's changing, he's not changing divisions. Forget about changing the sport. I just don't think he is. It's not a shot on him. I think Russell Wilson, again, could be worth

a win to a team that didn't have a right quarterback. But I will tell you what I think based on free agency gains and losses and kind of what teams are going through right now where we stand with the top 10. I would put Green Bay at 10. They remain the youngest. The youngest offense in the NFL and the youngest roster. They overpaid for Aaron Banks at guard, but it was a position of need. And again, when you have a young quarterback, you've got to protect him.

Now, Jordan Love did not play well in the last month of the season. And that is a concern. Plus, Chicago is better. Minnesota could be really good. the division is very good offensively. I have Green Bay at 10. Number nine. Denver's going to improve.

How good was Bo Nix as a rookie? Well, how good do you think he's going to be year two with Sean Payton? They got Evan Ingram, which Sean Payton calls their Joker position, like Debo. He can do multiple things. They spent more money on free agency than any playoff team. And again, Bo Nix, an entire offseason with Sean Payton. So getting Drey Greenlaw and Hufunga, those are big. instinctive, smart guys who will upgrade the defense.

Everybody in the AFC West, including the Raiders, that division's getting really good, really fast. Number eight. The commanders, their O-line last year was 10. Now they added Laramie Tunzel, a top three pass blocker. Debo Samuel is one of the great moves of free agency, the classic chess piece. So this is a team that could get four to five starters out of the draft, got two absolute starters in free agency.

And again, Jaden Daniels as a rookie was amazing. Another offseason to learn Cliff's offense. I have them at eight. Number seven. Really worry about Kansas City. Joe Tuny is one of the more valuable offensive linemen in the league left. And they didn't want him to leave. They couldn't afford him.

They don't have a left tackle. They paid a lot for Jalen Moore, who's never been a starter. And there's pass rushers all over that division. By the way, they're not going to go 11 and 0. in one-score games. Raiders are better. Broncos will be better. The Chargers will be better.

Listen, it never lasts forever. I think it's going to be a slight pullback here. I still have them as a playoff team. You're not going 11-0 in one-score games. The division now is simply too good. Number six. The Chargers, I think Najee Harris, only player in the league,

four straight thousand-yard seasons, behind a bad Steeler O line, and a tone-deaf culture offensively. Now he goes to Harbaugh. By the way, Harbaugh's second year with the Niners got to the Super Bowl. So think of what Jim Harbaugh turned around in one off season. The worst defense to statistically a top two defense. Now you get another 7-8 draft picks from a coach who just left college football.

Naji Harris, Joe Alt, second year is a starting tackle. I think like Denver, the Chargers make a big jump. I have them at six. Number five. about the lions. I like DJ Reed because their past defense has been lousy for years. I like that pickup. They lost both coordinators. And they're not going to be as clever without Ben Johnson. They're just not. We saw Philadelphia lose both coordinators a couple years ago and they plummeted. I also think the whole rah-rah thing, I think it works early as you're building a culture. But now the culture, the raw-rah stuff wears down.

Are you as good schematically? Because the NFC is getting better fast. I have the Lions at 5. Number 4. Listen, they got an extension for Josh Allen. I also think Joey Bosa and receiver Josh Palmer are upgrades. The extension, by the way, is fairly team-friendly to allow for some flexibility. I thought for much of the year last year they were the best team, and I think they've upgraded. I think Joey Bosa is a better version of Vaughn Miller, who is expensive and heard a lot and became kind of a pass-rusher only.

I have Buffalo at 4. Number 3. Ravens, rosters ranked number one by PFF. They got Lonnie Stanley. And again, that number one offense last year, I don't see it regressing. This list is not about who's going to win the Super Bowl. It is how do I value your roster and your team right now based on free agency gains and losses and extensions to your best player? I have the Ravens at three.

Number two. I let the Rams crushed. Puna 4 defensive line. That was an area of need. and Devante Adams and retain Matt Stafford. And their defense, Thanksgiving on, was arguably the best in the lead. Go ask Sam Darnold sack nine times. So this defense is just getting better every month because they're so young and inexpensive.

I put the Rams at two. Go back to that game in the snow and Philly. They're down to the 15-yard line with a chance to go with two turnovers, with a chance to go in for the win. It's a real team heading the right direction. one. Listen, they didn't overpay for Milton Williams. They had some free agent losses, but they have drafted so well. Philadelphia is number one. Again, they are smart enough to know who to pay for and who to let go, and I thought all their moves made sense to me. Zach Vaughn bringing him back to linebacker

surprised me a little at that price point. But again, I'm going to give Philadelphia the benefit here. It remains the deepest roster with the most dexterity. And with that, Nick Wright is joining us. probably not in the greatest mood right now as I have the chargers at seven. No, you have the Chiefs at seven. You have the Chargers at six. So Najee Harris worth seven wins. That's cool. That's sober-minded analysis by America's honesty broker.

So let's talk about this for a moment because you elevated the bills because you like the Joey Bosa edition so much. if only one could tell what team he left. So Joey Bosa makes the bills better by going there. The Chargers lose him, they improve. The Chargers, by the way, whose quarterback is tied for, let me do all the math, dead last in NFL history in playoff wins, and the Chiefs quarterback who's second only to Brady in playoff wins,

the Chargers who haven't won the division in a decade, and last year, again, won 11. games. The Chiefs won 17 games, and this is the year. This is an annual tradition where you pick a new team to win the AFC West, and then midway through the year, you're like, yeah, I probably shouldn't have done that. Also, and I hate to do this to you because you know how much I love you, but you said the Chiefs didn't want to lose Joe Tooney. Well, was there a gun to Brett Veach's head when he called the Bears and traded him? They didn't lose Joe Tunney. They traded Joe Tooney. I just got to say the rest of your bracket feels a lot like we are respecting the teams that were really good last year,

except for, of course, the Chiefs, which just makes no sense. And then I'll just ask you this question. Move on. What did the Ravens and Bills do? Forget the Chargers, which is just nonsense, but it's the L.A. warm Sierra, I guess. Due to it get better. Well, how did the Ravens and the Bills close the gap? because the Chiefs got noticeably worse at left tackle, at offensive level.

Well, they're getting old. They got worse at left tackle by signing a player, but they're the only team of the league. They had four guys there last year. They sign a player, and now they got worse at that position. They're also, according to your analysis, the only team in the league that's not going to participate in the draft, I guess. Every other team, all they got these draft picks, they're going to prove it the draft. The Chiefs have the Titans' third round pick, which like a second round pick. But go ahead. Tell me more about the team that's been to five and last six Super Bowls.

Well, it is, I will say, is all these teams I called it last year, I called it 18 months ago with the Niners, that when you get old and Chris Jones getting older and Travis getting older, and here comes Juju Smith getting older, and it's like it's another receiver got in trouble, and you got to actually get a running back that you can kind of trust. It's just, again, they're not going to go 11 and 0 in close games. They may go 8 and 3, but if you look at hard, Harbaugh's history, Michigan, Stanford, everywhere he's been. Year two is the pop year.

He took over the worst team in the league, got him to the playoffs. That team is going to pop with more of his brilliance in the building for a year. So it's okay. Listen, at one point, you know I like Harbaugh, and I agreed with you last year that the Chargers could be a playoff team. But at some point, I'm just curious. Is Justin Herbert going to have to earn this benefit of the doubt? Justin Herbert's calling card last year was, doesn't make mistakes, only two interceptions all season. And then in the playoff game, he threw more picks in that game than he did all year long.

And I like Harbaugh as well. I don't think you think he's better than Andy Reid. So, like, at what point does Justin Herbert have to actually live up to the billing that you have given him for the last half decade? Like at some point, he's got to, like, actually play well in a big spot once. It's been in the league's five years. I feel like that's a fair ask. Once, play big in a big spot. Well, right?

This is the year. Stuff isn't true until it happens. And so, you know, I mean, Mahomes wasn't great until he was great. And here we go. Yeah, no, no, that's wrong. Mahomes was great immediately. Mahomes. Well, Holmes was great immediately.

But. And Herbert, Herbert got eaten alive by a Texans team. that then got walloped by the Chiefs, who they then beat Buffalo, who would beat Baltimore, and you have them all ahead of Kansas City. Because they lost Joe Tooney. The difference is the Chargers played seven to eight rookies. They're not rookies anymore.

This is going to be a team where they'll probably only get two starters out of the draft because they have like a real lineup now. So it's a real team going to, last year, basically, it was a bunch of kids filling holes. They're sure they don't have that many holes. They need an edge rusher and probably, a tight end. That's about what they need. All right, I want to move on to this.

I look at Shadur Sanders. People are freaking out. And they're saying, well, he's overrated. Well, Daniel Jones was a reach into the first round. I watched Daniel Jones at Duke. I never saw first round player. I watched Jackson darted old miss. I don't see a first round player.

Shadur Sanders is the second best quarterback in the draft by almost all, you know, executive accounts. Sure. Is he the third pick? Well, that's what the Giants have. Your take on if you were given the choice and you knew your job was on the line, would you go with better now, Aaron or Seder Sanders? Oh, well, no, no. I would absolutely not get in the Aaron Rogers business.

There is no question whatsoever that I think that is a non-starter for any team that is serious about winning football. games in twenty twenty five i don't i do not understand why this player who has not been above average by any metric in four years and four years ago he was awesome but four years ago was two teams and a torn achilles ago and he's now forty one going to be forty two this season so i certainly wouldn't sign aaron rogers should or does make me nervous though and i do think that it is fair to say that if Chador were in last year's quarterback class, would he have been the sixth or seventh quarterback off the board? And this year is he being

elevated because it appears to be such a weaker class that being the second best quarterback in the draft might still mean you're the 25th best player in the draft. I understand. I why a lot of people believe the Giants have to take him because Shane and Dable have to get that position right. So I get that. But I don't have any concerns about Shador, the guy, the person. I think the fact that it's like, oh, he has an ego, all that stuff I think is nonsense. I do have concerns about whether or not he is going to translate to the pros and whether or not the offense they were running at Colorado prepared him for the pros. But if you're at telling me, it's one of two options.

Aaron Rogers or Shador, I would obviously take Shador. So I was talking about this earlier, is that the Warriors have a little issue, is that Steph looks exhausted. I watched the Nuggets Warriors last night. Warriors had no energy. And so, but the difference with the Lakers and the Warriors,

when Steph sits out, they lose all their offensive oxygen. Butler's not a dominating score, either is Draymond, Caming is hot and cold. Yet, and I've always been, you know, a little passive on my love for Austin Reeves. When LeBron leaves, both Austin and Luca are great offensive initiators.

They drive. They get fouls. They go to the line. They score. Now, Austin Reeves now, to me, has shown real value when LeBron's out. Now, when LeBron comes back, he's not dropping 30. He's not going to get the ball as much. Rui's going to get more looks.

You know, Jackson Hayes is going to get more pogo stick looks. But I will say, LeBron leaves. Lakers can score 120. Steph gets in foul trouble or leaves. There's not a lot of offense. To me, I think to myself, that is the difference Lakers Warriors. Is that LeBron's figured out, I've got to tweak groin. Daddy's going to go home and take a nap.

See him three weeks. That's what the Lakers are doing. LeBron's like, hey, we can win this thing. I just want to be rested. They can win this thing. I do, again, not to be too combative. Did you phrase your Austin Reeves takes as passive in my love for Austin Reeves? I would maybe use a different phrase, openly skeptical, if not outright, antagonistic about Austin Reeves historically.

But listen, the shorter version of what you said is, the Lakers have Lucanac and the Warriors don't. Yes. Like, yeah, Luca is an offense unto himself, and Austin Reeves is a very, very good third option. And I do, here's what I wonder from LeBron watching, because nobody is shocked at all by how great Luke has been. Even though last night he was, what, 5 of 20 from the field, his actually, you know, his shot hasn't been what it normally is. but the last few weeks we've seen him look like Lukadansjich. People are probably surprised by the explosion offensively from Austin Reeves. I wonder if LeBron watching this if when he comes back,

he does something that Broussard has talked about, that he's always had available to him, but has never been on a team where it would make sense, which is take on more of the traditional power forward almost Carl Malone role, which is, I'm going to get you, 25 plus and 10 rebounds while allowing Luca and some Austin to run the offense while running it occasionally. Because the fact that matter is this. Like the Warriors have looked prior to last night really, really good, but that was still a team that I felt was probably a guy short.

I gave him credit for the 14 and 2 run. But no one is LeBron. Like Steph is 37 and wearing down a LeBron is 40 and when he was playing was playing as well as he had played in the last three years or so. But it's not, the point is, as good as playoff Jimmy can be, he's not Luca. And offensively, there's only one other guy in the league that can generate what Luca does, and that's Joker. And so I think that the Lakers have a really good shot of coming out of the Western Conference. And I listen, I look at the Western Conference right now, as the thunder are understandably the favorites, but the Lakers are right next to them, and those two teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference.

By the way, circle back to the NFL. I thought Denver did very well. I thought the Rams did very well. They got the right players to the right price. I thought, you know, DJ Reed of the Lions for a unit was smart. I said this earlier, offensive line is a cohesion unit. The Bears O line will be better. It may not be better in September.

you can't add three new starters who have never played together and be, hey, and who, by the way, veterans don't play in the preseason, especially O-Linman. So the Bears will be very good. It may be Thanksgiving when that O-Line clicks. Is there a team that you thought won free agency? This is the one part of your tears or your herd hierarchy that I agree with. Yeah, I would say the Rams. I would say the Rams because, one, they avoided what to me would have been a totally self-inflicted

of moving off Matt Stafford. I have no idea why you would do that. He's obviously in the argument for the best quarterback in that conference. So as long as he wants to keep playing, I think that makes sense. I assume that I think they'll get one really good year out of Devante Adams. They have drafted really well, so they've kind of replenished and revamped that defensive line. So I thought the Rams being able to add a couple pieces, but most notably keeping Matt Stafford made them the biggest winners of free agency because they would have been such losers of free agency for no reason by moving off Stafford. So I agree with you on the Rams piece of it.

This is kind of always how it goes for you, Colin. You see the NFC so clearly. And the AFC, it's all foggy and like all confusing to you. So, like, if we combined my AFC predictions and your NFC predictions, we'd probably never lose a bet. Like, I mean, it'd just be untouchable, but it just gets wires crossed for some reason. For the record, I had all four AFC division winners, and I had Denver is the surprise team in the league. That may have just been lost in the fog, but I was. Well, yeah, listen, I know you did, and I give you credit on Denver.

However, picking the four teams that won the divisions last year to do it again is not quite as hard as you make it out to me. Who do you like in the AMC? I'll take Patrick, Josh, and Lamar, and then I guess in the South, CJ. Like, yes, you did get that, Colin. But again, I just try to leave. Colin Coward, I go to you for a lot of things, and the NFC takes her spot on. The AFC takes, it just, you know, hit and miss at times. I'm just being honest.

You know, I love you. All right. Nick Wright, first things first. He's the star of the show that's coming up after ours. Good to seeing you, buddy. Always well dressed. Always well dressed. We've got Kyle Van Nuys stopping by.

Yeah, I think the reason I have, I think Denver's going to be much better because I get Bo Nix with Sean Payton for an entire offseason. And I think Jim Harbaugh, if you go to year two everywhere he's been, that's the pop year. He'll win the first year, set the culture. Year two, he gets the Niners to the Super Bowl. and whereas they had to play a lot of young players last year because holes in the roster, they don't. They need a tight end. They're not going into a season, not knowing who they are on the offensive line.

Now they've got Joel Alt. They've got Bozeman the center. Offensive line is set. Najee Harris is a steel in free agency, so I think the Chargers are going to be a real team. We all need routines that bring us calm in a chaotic world. How about Simply Safe home security 50% off a news system if you sign up for a professional monitoring plan? There's no safe like SimplySafe. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, it's us to 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. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how did 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. Oh, 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,

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

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I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen she went. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now,

and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. A lot of things going on today.

It kind of cracks me up how people look at the Dodgers. There's this headline today, are the baseballs, are the Dodgers, the villains are the heroes of baseball, and sometimes villains are heroes. And, you know, I mean, baseball needs a villain. When they had the evil empire of the Yankees, it was great. Houston was also a villain, but for the wrong reason. I mean, I look at the Dodgers, sorry, better GM, better scouting, more committed.

The Yankees have $140 million more of annual revenue. If the Dodgers have a roster that is so much better than the Yankees, why is that? Yankees have more money annually. The Yankees make more money. The gap between the Yankees and the Dodgers annual revenue is more than half the teams spend in the sport, you know, on rosters. Like the Yankees don't have the Dodgers scouting. Their GM, Brian Cashman's not as good as the Dodgers GM, Andrew Friedman. They have done unbelievable with players from the Pacific Rim.

Sorry. I mean, nobody complained when the Red Sox and the Yankees dominated the offseason. The Dodgers are doing what every other billionaire could do. And so, yes, I know it's easy to hate L.A. A lot of pretty people. Perfect weather. The California economy is like fifth best in the world. Yep.

And that's part of it. People just go, oh, but the governor and, yeah, our governor's a little pretty, whatever. But I think it's envy. I don't think people hate the Dodgers. Go look at their road attendants. You show up because it's envy. The Yankees make significantly more money every year. They don't spend it as wisely.

So, like, Otani is not just something that fell into their lap. they were recruiting like an SEC football team, Otani, eight years ago before he was in this country. They are years ahead of other organizations in scouting. It's like Adam Wainwright said. They also don't get top five picks. So they're just a better run organization. And it's not like other people can't win the nationals, the Royals, the Rangers. They've all won World Series titles since the Dodgers got their new owners.

but what they are is interesting. I mean, you just look at their batting order. It's just more interesting. They've got more good players. They re-sign the good ones. And by the way, they let Zach Grinky go, Mani Machado. There have been guys, they don't make big runs on everybody. They have let players go.

Sometimes players that are beloved here, Justin Turner, didn't they let him go a few years ago? He was beloved in Los Angeles. So they're just, I mean, last year, year, they got bad breaks with pitching. The Dodgers last year could not keep starting pitchers healthy. Now, Otani's going to pitch. That's going to start in May. Dustin May is going to come, and they've added Blake's Nell and Rokie Zazaki, the phenom from Japan. So this is an all-time roster and staff. And it's still, they're still not going to use Kershaw, Otani, and Dustin May until later.

So it's imperative if you're going to get after the Dodgers. You want to do it early because it's a gauntlet of fresh arms and great arms starting in May. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Your Warriors, Colin, had been looking unstoppable since picking up Jimmy Butler, but boy, they were really, really embarrassed last night by the Yolkich-less.

Denver Nuggets. Also, Jamal Murray didn't play. They sat Christian Brown? Wow. Steve Kerr said the Warriors effort was awful and Steph needs some rest from carrying the team. Uh, I don't know, Colin, you feeling a little nervous about your Warriors. Now, you stole them from me because you know Curry's my guy. Well, they have a six-game roadie coming up and Steph needs to take a couple of games off

and they don't have a ton of offense when he doesn't play. So they're going to be fine, but they started so low even with the winning streak. They've only worked themselves up to about sixth place. And we do know that in the regular season, at least, offense carries the league. They're going to be a very good defensive team in the playoffs. Draymond and Butler are elite defenders. So they'll be a very good – will the Lakers ever be an elite defensive team? No.

Lucas stinks, Austin Reeves okay, Dalton Connect. 20-game sample size, where they were the number one defense. This is regular season. In the playoff, Austin. Justin's not a great defender. Let's be honest, Jackson Hayes, LeBron, Luca, so I think the Warriors will be fine

because playoff basketball becomes half-court possessions, coaching, playing real defense. You're going to bet against LeBron's defense after he's getting a two-week-old siesta here? Come on. We'll see. Come on. Those groin tweets.

By the way, I like Steve Kerr a lot, but I... Geez, I hope this doesn't come off bad. I'm detecting some whininess from Steve Curlating. just a little little whiny. What do you mean? It seems like he's complaining a lot.

What do you mean exactly? I don't know. He's like, oh, Jeff Curry's exhausted. He's been carrying us. Like, a lot of negativity from Perkins. That's not what I saw early on when he, you know, had clay. Well, I think he's being honest. I think I watched the game last night.

I watched the first three quarters of that game. Warriors had no energy. Everybody was tired. Well, you know how you play a lot of sports. I used to. You go up against a team and they're missing their two best players. Oh, we got this. It's cake.

And you kind of let your guard down and then you get embarrassed. I mean, hell, the Lakers, we were Friday night. We're watching Lakers Nuggets. I kept thinking, what am I going to live bet Denver to blow them out? And the Lakers almost won the game. You know, Lakers didn't have LeBron or Luke. There is something in the NBA that's really interesting. And we've seen this with Boston when Tatum sits.

It's like when your best player sits and last night Denver's top two players sat, other guys get looks and shots. Yeah. They never get. And everybody in the NBA can score. So Denver last night, you know, all these guys are like, hey, we'll get the ball. Yeah. We get the ball in our hands.

You see this when LeBron's out. Look at Austin Reeves play. Like he's getting the ball in his hands significantly more when LeBron's out and Austin's delivering. It's like when you have a sick day and I'm in the driver's seat and let me cook. And I'm just going off dropping a 50 burger on somebody's head. All right. Next up, the phrase hometown discount has kind of gone. out of style, Colin, as we see everybody

just resetting the market. However, in the NFL, Ravens left tackle, Ronnie Stanley made it clear. He wanted to return to Baltimore, and he made it easier for the Ravens to bring him back. Take a listen. I knew I was going to give Baltimore, you know, the best,

kind of the best bargain that I would, you know, offer to any other team. That being said, I still wanted to be happy with, you know, when I'm making it, make sure I'm getting the value that, you know, I feel like I deserve NBA is pretty much just get the bag.

NFL guys, NFL guys, they don't want to bounce around the league. Oh, stop it. Come in, break. How many guys have we said? Well, he's the highest-paid or not. Well, time out. Matt Stafford, team-friendly deal. Josh Allen, team-friendly deal.

Ronnie Stanley, team-friendly deal. Second straight-off season, Stafford wind and complain. Trade me, I want out of here. Oh, wait, I'll okay. I'll stay. Like, come on, all these guys are greedy. And they should be. Well, the shelf life is not long in the NFL.

But in the NFL, especially, I mean, like if you're Matt Stafford, you're not going to do better than McVeigh. You're not going to do better. So I think at basketball, it's more about I'm good, I get my shot, I'll go anywhere. I think in the NFL, you have to be part of a collective and nobody wants to play for a lousy team. So if you get on a good team as an offensive player and your coach is Andy Reeder McVeigh, why leave? Okay, so let's say it's not happening, but let's say the Panthers that offered Ronnie Stanley $8 million more. Are you going to the Panthers or you stay with Lamar and getting a shot at the Super Bowl?

I want to play with the Ravens. Oh. I think it's as well-run a team as the league has. So you would give Fox a hometown discount as opposed to the league. How do you know I didn't? Oh. Well, I'm just saying I... You love what I put you on the spot there, huh?

There's value in life. I've said this for years to you. Don't chase money, chase good management. There's a sea of money. There is not a sea of good management. That's accurate. That's, you know, you can just keep running around and the NBA getting paid. and maybe it's better in basketball

because it's all about the individual player. Wherever LeBron goes, they win or wherever the great players go, you generally win. But I think in football, there's kind of an understanding. Do you want to compete or do you want to be in a crappy locker room of which half the league last year was... I mean, like, there were eight horrible NFL teams last year.

It's hard. Football practice is hard. Do you really want to drive to the football stadium on Sunday knowing you're going to get boxed? It's a horrible life. It is, yeah. Final story. A lot of people were surprised when Larry B. Tunsell, who is the most famous person that I know that's been photographed for a gas mask taking a bong hit.

People were surprised when he left and was traded to Washington. But he is super excited to play with Jaden Daniels. That's a huge impact. Just talking from a player standpoint, what I bring to the table, pass would take a damn good run blocker. I can't wait for. He's a father. Just from seeing this on TV and

watch a film, and he seemed like he's a better dude, too. Yeah. He made a little mistake in college. No, no, no. I'm having fun with it. Everybody I know in college took a ball and he had wearing a gas mask. Every single person I know. Yeah, same. Same, right? So it's not, it's just

funny, you know, that he got kind of exposed by that, but this is a huge upgrade for him. I think Washington's a legit Super Bowl content. Do you have the Texans in your top 10 earlier? I didn't. I didn't have 11. Oh, stop. They're not 11.

You think they're that good? Well, I thought they gave Kansas City a real game in Arrowhead. So, Colin, listen. They're all banged up. I just got to call you out sometimes. If you're going to be Chicago upgraded the offensive line, they got three new guys. You've got to downgrade the Texans who lost their offensive line. Well, I did.

I didn't have them in my top 10. And now the Vikings, by the way, you see their center. He's out. Yep. I didn't have the Vikings in my top 10. Smart man. I mean, again, you know. I think Chicago's going to be good.

They're just not going to be good in September. Because offensive lines take forever to gel. That's a premature take, my friend. We haven't seen the schedule. What if they open with Indy? I don't know. I'm just throwing out teams. And they all of a sudden are 3-0, and you're in the windy city flying that bear's flag.

Let's go. Super Bowl or bust. Jemak with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Line News. You guys noticed Nick Wright got a little defensive. today about the Chief's offensive line.

Right now the Chief's O' line is bad. It's a bad O'Line. You can't lose Joe Tuny and go, hey, feel great. Trey Smith. Now Trey got the bag. Watch out. Left tackle, no big game experience. Watch out. I'm just saying. Little thin skinned on the...

Last year I called the Cowboys and Niners to regress. This year, the Chiefs are going to regress. Think I'm on to something. Live in L.A., it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, is Steve Kavino. And I'm Rich Davis.

And together we're Kavino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the IHart Radio app. Why should you listen to Kavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world? We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together,

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And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino-N-Ritch, wherever you get your podcast. social media. That's Kavino and Rich. Hey, it's us to 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. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. 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. And 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.

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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,

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The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand, because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.

She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court-side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

In just two weeks, get ready for the college basketball crown. 16 teams from the top conferences. Put it all in the line in a new postseason tournament. It all tips off March 31st on Fox and FS1. So this is interesting. I saw this headline. Steelers are stuck in quarterback limbo if Aaron Rogers rejects them, what's next? And I said this earlier. It is a little bit like some of these offensive coaches are playing chess and some of these defensive coaches are playing checkers. It's mid-March. You don't know who the quarterback is? I mean, McVeigh moved off Jared Gough when he was 42 and 20 under McVeigh. And it'd been to a Super Bowl, moved off him. Stafford. I mean, literally last two years. Here's what we can pay it. Here's what we can't. Like McVey feels like he is two years ahead of these defensive coaches,

like the Dodgers are with some of their scouting, like they're just ahead of the curve, and defensive coaches are, well, we'll do what we have to do at quarterback. That's not the position. And I've said this. Ron Rivera, I thought it hurt him. Tomlin it's heard him. I mean, listen, Kevin O'Connell had Darnold,

had Daniel Jones, had John, had, J. J. McCarthy and he was still reaching out to Aaron Rogers. He was like, no, we'll just make it better. So is he going to be, is Aaron going to be a stealer? Cam Hayward, a current steeler, on his podcast, didn't seem that

fired up about the recruiting pitch to him. Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or you don't. That's simple. That's the pitch. Like, if you want me to recruit, that's the recruiting pitch. You know, Pittsburgh Steelers, if you want to be part of it, so be if you don't.

no no scare on my back okay i think sometimes with older quarterbacks i mean mike tomlin has a great line he always says i want volunteers not hostages meaning i want guys who want to be stealers i get it but sometimes in free agency when you don't have a quarterback you got to put on the telemarketer salesman cap and and have a little bit of a pitch to attract a quarterback Pittsburgh's not terribly attractive right now. O lines amiss, just lost their left tackle, lost their best running back, and they spent a ton on defense. So, I mean, I get it. You want guys who want to be Steelers.

I get it. But can you imagine if you were in college football saying, hey, you either want to be a Georgia bulldog or not, and Alabama and Tennessee and Ohio State and Michigan are putting on the salesman ham. That's what made Nick Sabin great, the salesman have. You got to do it. even in pro football sometimes. You got to show some love when you don't have a quarterback. These guys want to believe, and especially Aaron's got a couple options here,

Giants, Steelers, or retirement. I was telling people this morning, I think Aaron may retire. I think he wants Minnesota. And if he doesn't get Minnesota, he's like, yeah, I've done rebuilding teams. I'm not doing the Giants. And I just, I look at the Steelers, and they've got a couple of high-maintenance receivers, but am I a Pittsburgh guy? So I

right now, Jay Mack, I honestly believe this. If the Vikings offer Aaron, he goes. If not, I think he retires. I think he's got other interests.

I mean, I think he's shown his hand on that. He has other things. Aaron's not desperate. He's got 300 million bucks, House in Malibu. He loves a lot of things beyond just playing football.

I think he'd just say, hey, last couple years were bumpy. I played well my last 10 games. I have some pride. I ended playing pretty darn good football. I had multiple teams offer, and I said, no, it was on my terms. I don't think that's a terrible ending. Your last 10 games as a pro, you were pretty darn good.

I mean, look at his numbers. And, by the way, lost a lot of games. You weren't desperate. I mean, giants offer you, a Steelers offer you, and you're like, nah, I'm not going to do it. I think if I was Aaron right now, and the Vikings said, hey, we're going to pass. I think I'd retire. Great.

Go enjoy Coachella and whatever that Burning Man in the desert. A lot of people like those. Travel the world. You had a good run. You're going to be a first ballot hall of fame or good riddance. We can move on. I'm honestly done talking about this guy. And what do the Steelers do, a quarterback?

I'm looking at the depth chart. Mason Rudolph. Yes. And Skyler Thompson. That's not great. You might as well just tank for Archmanning. Just forget it. You're not going anywhere with those.

Oh, you know, the Steelers. You're going to go with your tail between your legs? Russell, please come back to us. Is that what you're doing? What are the other options? Carson Wentz? Well, here's what's funny. The Colts had a quarterback.

They went and got another one, Daniel Jones. They have an offense. Did they get a quarterback? They got Daniel Jones. What I'm saying? Did they get a quarterback? Just listen. They had a starting quarterback, and they sensed urgency in the position.

I mean, McVeigh had Stafford two years ago. Let's go get Garoppolo. Let's draft the kid out of Georgia. The offensive coaches, they don't consider a quarterback just another position. Ron Rivera did with Washington. That's what they do in Pittsburgh. I mean, Aaron's, at the end of last year, Aaron Rogers' last 10 games,

18 touchdowns, four picks in the 97 pass rating, with bad coaching. Okay, are you ready? Somebody did a drill down, a deep dive on those numbers, and they're total Fugazi, Colin. I'm telling you, they're trailing after three quarters, and he's just chucking and ducking in the fourth quarter. You go look at Devante Adams' numbers with the Jets.

A lot of it was just stacked in the four. fourth quarter because they were down 20 points in every game. So it's not like he's coming out and making great throws and the Jets are in games. I'm watching all these games because I'm a Jets fan. I'm like the last Jets fan on the earth. And Aaron Rogers was not good despite what the numbers tell you. So I don't think it's the worst thing in the world if the Steelers miss out on Rogers. Can you imagine the drama with him and Mike Tomlin? Yeah, but I'd like to have something better than the current two Steelers on the roster. marginal upgrade over Mason Rudolph. Mason knows the system.

There you go. It just seems to me that it's mid-March, you should have more of a plan than finger-crossing. Seriously. Unless they like somebody in the draft a lot? No, no, no. That's not crazy. Well, the last quarterback they drafted high was Kenny Pickett?

Well, I think Jackson Darts got a better pro-future than Kenny Pickett. I do. 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 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know.

I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcast on the I-Hart Radio Act. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend, Janet. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely.

A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got them.

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