The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Eric Mangini, Baltimore Ravens, Tom Brady

Episode Date: October 4, 2021

In hour 2, 3-time Super Bowl champion Eric Mangini joins the show to tell Nick what he thought of Jones' performance and how Brady handled his return to New England. Nick Wright also gives his thoughts on the Baltimore Ravens showing up the Denver Broncos by not kneeling and going for the 43rd straight 100yd rushing game. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope From a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite,

the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite. Wednesdays on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments.

If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis'clock, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me, or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure. going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard

Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. It is the Herd. Nick right in for Colin. Colin out sick today. Hopefully we'll be back tomorrow. We wish him well. And we He would love to be on today and explain how no actually Tom Brady played great yesterday. Ignore the no touchdowns in the 70-passer rating against the bad Patriots team. What he overcame, the emotions in the crowd. It was actually a great Brady game.

The fact of the matter is this when it comes to that football game. Neither one of those teams comes out of it feeling good. Tampa's secondary when an injured, even more injured now. they couldn't crack 20 points. New England, meanwhile, says you've got to be kidding me. We pull out every trick play we have. Jacoby Myers is the only guy in our team who can complete a deep pass evidently.

And we cannot move the football when it matters. 19 straight completions for who, for what? You scored 17 points. Kicking a 56-yard field goal in the rain to try to steal a win. So I think both of those teams leave that game feeling uneasy. The Patriots know we have no weapons. Nobody that can hurt you. Nobody that can push the that threatens the defense. And if you don't have explosive playmakers, you've got to have an offense that'll push the ball down the field. They don't let Mack Jones do that. The one

passing through more than 20 yards got intercepted. That ain't great. Well, at least we can run the ball. Nope. Eight carries negative one yard. I saw that this morning. I said, that's got to be a misprint. No, that's the right numbers. Eight carries negative. one yard. The Pats have an excellent pass defense, and they're bad at everything else. The Bucks, meanwhile, I feel like, are good at everything except for past defense. If you put the Patriots secondary on Tampa Bay's team, you'd have the best team in the NFL. Instead, the Bucks are going to be susceptible to teams that actually can pass the football,

unlike the Patriots teams that actually have weapons all year, and the Patriots, I mean, they got all of a sudden it's some ugly losses. That loss to Miami is now ugly. Getting blown out by New Orleans. When New Orleans, we'll talk about them in a moment, loses the Giants, that's ugly. And that game last night, when you got Tom Brady into the worst game he's played in two years,

the worst game he's played since he was a Patriot, and you couldn't pick up a third and three and then couldn't go for a fourth and three to steal a win. Neither team should feel good coming out of that game. But we've talked a ton of bucks patch. Joy Taylor, here's what I would like to do. We've invented something on the show today. no media operation has ever done it.

We're calling it thumbs up, thumbs down. And Joy is going to give me some of the games we are yet to discuss today. And I'm going to pick a person, player, or coach to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to N. Why? Does that work for you, Joy Taylor? I know I'm throwing this at you last minute. That is acceptable. Prepared somewhat.

Yes, we are prepared. All right, let's do it. All right. The Ravens going for the record, 43rd straight game with 100 plus rushing yards. Thumbs up or thumbs down. Yeah, so if people didn't, I'm going to give John Harbaugh a thumbs up on this. If people don't know, it's because there's a record no one was talking about, but no team had done this since the Steelers in the 70s rushed for 100 yards

in this many consecutive games. They were three yards short. You see the time score situation. They can take a knee instead, nope, we're going to go get our five yards. Here's why I'm giving it a thumbs up. I'm giving it a thumbs up for the disrespect it shows to the Broncos. not disrespect like, oh, you're not going to stop us, but disrespect in this regard,

they have no fear of playing them again. Joy, I do not believe they do this to the Browns, the bills, the Chargers, the Chiefs. Any team, they might have to play again in the postseason. But I think they look at the Broncos, and they say 3-0, shmino. You get the Jets, the Giants, and the Jags. You're not very good.

We're never going to have to play you again. So the herd hierarchy We have the Broncos fourth They say we don't care about that either We're not gonna you're you can be as mad as you want Denver But we're not gonna play you until next season So just you know Deal with it

So I give Harbaugh a thumbs up on this Because the disrespect it shows to who the he thinks the Broncos actually are That's some in-depth petty investigation Because I'm with you I try to tell Colin he's way too high on the Broncos They haven't beaten anybody And this was the game to determine if they were for real.

So I think you're right. Because they're not going to do that to someone that's going to be like, wait a minute. No chance. Especially because if you remember last year, Joy, the Titans stomped on the Ravens logo during the regular season, remember? But that was a dumb move by the Titans

because they were going to have to see the Ravens again. And in fact, they did. And the post season. Didn't go well for them. The Ravens are like, when do we play Denver again? 20, 23? All right, no problem. We're not seeing you in the playoffs

because you ain't going to be in the playoffs. All right, what's the next one? All right. Aaron Rogers and the Packers taking down Ben Rothesberger and the Steelers. All right, Joy, let's talk about this. We got to give a thumbs down and it's to Big Ben. Joy, I audibly gasped when Big Ben connected on that deep pass to Deontay Johnson. I was like, oh my God, I did not see that coming.

And then there was a lot of this. The Big Ben low lights this year are almost in SFW. It's almost like, oh, my God, close the browser, the boss. coming by. What are you watching? Big Ben falling down. Big Ben again on a fourth down with the game align throwing it short of the sticks. It's fourth down. This is a sad one man. This is worse than Willie Mays in the outfield. You are watching a guy who, and I never try to tell guys to play as long as you can, make all the money you want, you enjoy it, I get it. But they are an incapable offense. and so much of it surrounds what he can't do, Joy.

You know, no one from Pittsburgh listens to me when I talk about the Steelers. No one from Miami wants to hear what I have to say about the dolphins. But I'm just over here right all the time. I've said it for years now that that Super Bowl window was closing and they needed to be more aggressive.

They cannot run the ball. Forget the fact that Ben Rothesberger is looking completely incapable, as you said. They can't run the ball. You can't win in the AFC North not running the ball. It's impossible. Zach Wilson's first career win

over the Titans in overtime. Thumbs up. down. Oh, I'm going to, big thumbs up to Zach Wilson and big thumbs up for the Jets for understanding. Listen, I talked about this with Mac Jones and the Patriots. If you only ever feed your kid off the kid's menu, chicken fingers, mac and cheese, butter pasta, every meal for all of childhood into their teens, they're going to end up being the guy that is on a date with Joy Taylor. It's like, um, can I have the chicken fingers? And Joy's like, we're at a French bistro. It's like, yeah, um, do you have honey mustard? I would like the chicken fingers. And guess what,

fella? You're not getting the second date. You're like, oh, you can't eat like an adult. You're not. Like, he's like, oh, but I love them. They're delicious. Yeah, you got to grow up. So sometimes that means you have your kid try the pasta fajn jule and then he's like, I don't like it, but you're developing his palate. Zach Wilson, they let him order off the adult menu. They'll like, hey, you might throw up after the meal, but we're going to deal with it. And what do you know, game four? Dropping dimes. Just dropping dimes on the Titans.

Now, I could also give a thumbs down to the Titans defense because yuck. I know the Titans were without Julio Jones and A.J. Brown. And that defense was miserable. But I give credit to the Jets. He's going to have a bad game again soon, probably a bunch of them. But you saw the development. You saw it's like, oh, those are the traits that we drop. crafted him for, and all of a sudden you get a win.

So I give him a big thumbs up, and I give the Jets a thumbs up for not dumbing down the game plan and understanding we're going to take some L's for a greater purpose of trying to grow into something. I couldn't agree more. You just want to see a little development. Don't have too many expectations for year one, but just a little bit of growth is what you're looking for. I thought that was a big win for the Jets and for Zach Wilson. So the Giants taking down the Saints in extra time in the Superdome.

I have to go thumbs down, and it's to Sean Payton. If you watch this game closely, and those of us that had the Saints in a teaser, we did, all you got to do is win, Saints. Survivor pool, teaser, just win. You're at home for the first time all year. You're playing the Giants. Can you win the game? No, you can't.

Why can't you? Well, it started with Sean Payton like, hey, 58-yard field goal. Let's try that. Why? Why? It's zero, zero early. You have fourth and short. It's fourth and three from the 40. You have plenty of options. None of them should be that. You give the Giants a short field, Daniel Jones touchdown. Then later in the game, Taysam Hill has come in and done exactly what Tayson Hill is supposed to do. Be a fullback. Boom, boom. Touchdown runs. That's awesome.

Good for you, Tassum. Not this. What are you doing? You're playing the Giants. Don't give them extra. What are you doing, Sean Payton? Just call him from Tassum Hill. like the old game we played as kids. 500. Throw it up in the air, see who comes down with it. It's terrible. It's just terrible. What are you doing?

Now, am I extra bitter because this cost me untold dollars? Yes, I am. Did it knock me out of a couple of survivor pools? It did. Did it make my Giants or the worst team in football take a little shaky? It did.

But also, listen, you don't have games to give away New Orleans. You're going to be in a dog fight if you're lucky for the final wild card spot. You can't lose home games to the Giants. And you can't be kicking 58 yard field goals and calling Taysam Hill bombs, Joy. You can't. Thumbs down, Sean Baiton.

Bad job by you. I mean, I think the Saints at this point are starting to become what I thought they were, which is a team that's not in a rebuild, but in a reboot. And we probably overreacted a little bit to their wins. And we're starting to see what, you know,

they kind of are overall. So Kyler Murray's divisional win against Matthew Stafford and the Rams. Huge thumbs up for Kyler. He's the MVP right now. Hey, listen, I know what you're thinking. Nick, will you please give Patrick Mahomes and his 15 touchdown some credit?

I know. I would love to. However, they have a couple of losses. He does have four interceptions. So I know you guys are always like Nick. You're always overlooking Mahomes. Isn't he's top two in the NFL in touchdowns, yards, passer rating? He is all those things.

However, 4 and O, where I screwed up, I think, Joy, was I held that Vikings game against Arizona too much. because they should have lost it. Greg Joseph has that chip shot field goal to beat them. And so I was, I held that against them then against the Jags. It's kind of shaky. They allow that kick return touchdown because Cliff Kingsbury's like, let's try a 68-yarder for no reason whatsoever.

And it made me miss the obvious. This team scores 30 points every week. They have four receivers that can kill you. And Kyler does make some mistakes. but you can deal with mistakes if he also makes these wildly explosive plays. I did not think anyone all year would go to Los Angeles and beat the Rams down. I didn't think they'd go undefeated at home, but to beat them down that way, and by the way, that's their toughest game on their schedule probably.

At the Rams, it's probably the toughest one on their schedule, and they won it resoundingly. Huge thumbs up to Kyler, that offense as a whole. He's right now the league MVP. Yeah, and as Jimmy mentioned earlier, their defense is playing great as well. So they are really a complete team that can beat you on both sides of the ball. Bills and Chiefs rolling before their AFC championship rematch next week. Yeah. I'm giving thumbs up to Patrick Mahomes and a thumbs up to the Bill's defense,

which has quietly been the best in football this year. Like that's been, my issues with the bills are, one is, Josh Allen, I don't believe he's going to be able to duplicate what he did last year. By the way, through four weeks, I'm right. He's had one really good game, one decent game, and two awful games. But it hasn't mattered because the defense has been phenomenal. Two shutouts in the last three weeks. They've outscored their opponents, 11 to 21 over the last three weeks of football.

That's like some Alabama-type stuff, not an NFL team. And now, and then you have the Chiefs who never punitive. yesterday but also never forced a punt. Mahomes was sensational, made one mistake, excuse me, made one mistake the entire game, but the offense moved the ball at will, and now we get

the game of the year in the AFC. If the Chiefs win Sunday Joy, then everyone, most notably Colin Coward, but there are others, really looks silly for doubting Mahomes and the Chiefs. If they lose, however, then it's like, okay, what's

the argument that Buffalo isn't the best team in the conference. Right? If Buffalo, who's played the best football of anyone the last three weeks, if they go to Arrowhead and win, then you've got to say, okay, they have a better defense than Kansas City.

Their offense is super explosive. They went to Arrowhead and won something. Josh Allen, obviously, he's never beaten Mahomes. He's just gotten trounced by him. So it's the game of the year in the AFC up to this point. What are you laughing at? Are you going to say that? Are you going to say that the bills are the best team in the

AFC if they beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead? If they go to Arrowhead and win, yeah, I'll say it. But I'll also say, you know, I can fly if I sprout wins during the show. It's not going to happen. Josh Allen beating Mahomes, please. Nobody actually thinks that's going to happen. But it is interesting. And I would say some early bulletin board material for Can City.

Do you see the line? I do not. Casey, only a three-point favorite at home. That means Vegas is saying chiefs and the bills. they're the same. Oh, put that on the one. Nick, that is not bullets and board material. Oh, it is.

No, it is not. It is. It is. It is favored by less than a touchdown at home. The disrespect. Oh, my God. What are you talking about? Only laying three points.

Oh, it's bulletin board material. I already texted it to a member, to multiple members of the team. Did you see this disrespect? Only minus three, not even three and a half. It's not disrespectful. It's not disrespectful. Oh, it's major.

major, major disrespect. That's thumbs up, thumbs down. We give a thumbs up to Mahomes and a thumbs up to the Bill's defense. Coach Manjini is going to brag about how right he was about how the Cowboys can become contenders. We'll do that and get his thoughts

on if he agrees with me that Mac Jones was not good yesterday. We'll discuss that with Eric Mangini next. Nick right in for Colin on the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays and 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 Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole,

this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown. from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast.

I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest. storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode.

The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Ty Bramos. I'm Tom Boke. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Polisic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney.

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

The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, podcast wherever you get your podcast. Six, four and a half, aging in reverse, supermodel wife.

Is he talking about Tom Brady or our next guest? Who knows? I'm not sure. I wasn't really paying attention there. Our next guest is my dear friend, Eric Mangini, won Super Bowls with Tom, joining us thanks to the Cowherg Global Network. All right, let's start with Bucks, Pat, then we'll get to the Cowboys, and then hopefully we'll have time to do a few other NFC things as well.

I feel like neither team should leave that game feeling great. If you're the Bucks, you're happy you escaped with a win, but your biggest concern going into the game was clearly your secondary. It's why you sign Richard Sherman. You suffer another injury in the secondary. You let Mack Jones move the ball, even though you hold him to 17 points. But if I'm the Bucks, I am concerned about my past defense, especially in that conference against those quarterbacks.

And if I'm the Patriots, I feel like, okay, for the second time this year, our defense has done enough for us to win a game and we went home losing a home game. It's their third home loss, by the way. Give me your thoughts on both of those, the buck side of things and the patch side of things. Well, I think at the end of the day, you're happy to get away with a win no matter how it turns out. And those conditions were rough. They were rough from a weather standpoint. they're from an emotional standpoint. I don't think that Tampa Bay played a particularly efficient game overall.

But at the end of it, to be able to get on the plane with a win, you're excited no matter how ugly it may look. On the flip side, obviously New England's unhappy with a loss and another home loss, but they've got to be really happy with what Mack Jones did. And when you run the ball for minus one yards, which they've never had, I believe they've never done ever from a Patriots team. And I think the last time it was done was in 07 with the Lions. And then the whole stadium knows you have to throw.

They're pressuring you as much as they were pressuring Mac Jones. And he's able to be as efficient as he was. That's a really good sign. And I know that we want to look at rookie quarterbacks and expect them to be further along than they are. but that's a huge jump that Mac Jones took last night, especially with the lack of running game, especially with the emotion behind the game, with the weather with all those things.

For him to be as efficient as he was, it was impressive. Okay, so we disagree on Mac Jones. So let's stay here for a moment. Because I know you get into, even if you're not as into them as I am, but you're very aware of and keen to the advanced numbers and the kind of new age way of looking at football. And one thing that is way more valued, at least talked about today

than it was in years past, is explosives. It's about finding ways to make those explosive offensive plays. And to me, there's two pretty clear ways to make them. One is have an explosive playmaker, just get the ball on his hands and watch him do work, right? Throw a little swing pass or a screen pass, something, and let that guy's talent take over. kind of what the giants have hoped Sequin would do, right?

The other way is deep passes down the field. The Patriots right now don't seem to be able to do either. I don't think they have the personnel to have the explosive playmaker. Oh, just get the ball in Jonu Smith's hands and watch him make people miss. Nope. And they're not, Mac doesn't throw the ball deep down the field. So in that regard, can efficiency be a little overrated? Because everyone made a big deal out of the 19 straight complete.

last night, but yeah, but you're still kicking field goals and only scoring 17 points because they're not explosive plays. Like, does that concern you at all? Do you hear what I'm saying in that regard? Yeah, it does. And when we talked about the game prior to the game, I said that what a lot of teams are doing now is they're pressuring him because he gets it a lot, even though he doesn't get sacked at a tremendously high rate, and they're playing tight man-to-man coverage because

he's not making people pay for tight man-to-man coverage. but when you look at last night, efficient is what you needed. That weather was tough to deal with. And then you've got the fact that they were pressuring the way that they were pressuring, and they had zero running game. They had as bad a running situation as you could possibly have. So taking all those things into account to have not only an efficient performance, but an efficiency at that high of a level for a young guy in that environment,

it's really hard to do. And I know you're saying they're not putting up big points right now and they're not hitting teams down the field. But there's a lot of rookie quarterbacks that go into that situation and would have folded that would no running game would have been dead. Would have been dead. And he rose up in that moment.

And that is where, by the way, I should give credit, is that he didn't. He is yet to look like the, the moment's too big for him. Like, I think Alabama prepares you well for that. I think Saban does the fact that every game you're in, you're expected to win. Clearly, I think, between the ears, he's ready for it. You would have maybe, if you're a Patriots fan, like to see if Belichick would have let

him try that fourth and three rather than Nick Folk from 56 yards. But we, I talk to, we don't have to get further into that. I want to get to the Cowboys with you. I want to talk about their defense. So before I do that, let me say this on the front end. Coach, who is a very regular guest. on first things first, keeps coming on and saying, hey, you know what I think maybe the Cowboys should do is find a way to run the ball.

And I keep saying, no, they shouldn't, just throw the ball, Zeeke can't do it anymore. Yesterday, they ran the ball beautifully. The offense looked great. Dak only had to throw the ball like 22 times. So I will fold my hand temporarily to you in that regard. You were correct that when the Cowboys running game is effective, it is when they are at their best.

So we don't even have to spend time on it. I'm just saying you're right because I want to talk to you about their defense. On the defensive side of things, I think that we might have to start looking at them as a real contender. Because let's just assume, and I know they're young players, but let's assume that Diggs is awesome. Because he's been awesome so far. Let's just assume he can keep it up.

And let's assume Parsons is going to be the defensive rookie of the year, which he looks like so far. I know those are two big assumptions. but as a defensive coach, if you have a great corner and an elite pass rusher, do you basically automatically have a really good defense? Because it looks to me that's what the Cowboys might somehow have thanks to how well they drafted. Well, having those two pieces in place go a long way. If you can have one player that can potentially ruin the game for your opponent,

any game that they have to account for, that makes the other pass rushers more effective. And if you've got a corner that could potentially either take away their best receiver or a side of the field and you're able to push coverage, that also gives you tremendous options. What's exciting when you have a young defense is that they typically get better about midway through the season. There's a secondary jump that takes place because they have experience. They're used to playing with each other. They built up the reps. And you saw that to some degree with Carolina.

and really you're seeing that carryover to this season. Now I think what Dan Quinn, the defensive coordinator, has done a nice job with, a really good job with, is simplifying things so that these guys, as they're learning, can play fast. And then you can add a little bit more each week to get to the multiples that you want to get to. And he's got him playing fast, he's got him playing hard.

It looks like there's a toughness to him. There's a little bit of resilience. And going back to the running game, which you're absolutely right, the Cowboys, when they run the ball, are much more effective overall. Where that also helps is from time of possession. And when your defense struggles or is emerging

to be able to protect them and not put them in those situations where they've got extra downs of play, that helps significantly too. And Dallas is doing a pretty good job with that. It's the best Cowboys team since Dax rookie year. To me, it's pretty clear in that regard. And Zeke, even though he was excellent yesterday,

I don't think is close to the same guy he was his rookie season, but Dak is better than Dak was his rookie season. And if the defense, I mean, keep in mind, they don't even have Demericus Lawrence right now when he gets back. If this defense can be right around 10th best in football with that offense and that division and that schedule, this legitimately could be a 17-game season, a 13 and 4 Cowboys team, which should be good enough to compete for the one seed.

Let's stay with a team that I thought would be competing for the one seed, but now has two losses and is on their backup quarterback, and that's San Francisco. They're on their backup quarterback, but that might also be their preferred quarterback. What do you think in San Francisco is the level that Lance has to play at for him to keep the job now that Jimmy's probably going to miss a couple weeks with a calf injury? Well, from a head coaching standpoint, this is about as good a situation as you could be in in a bad situation. So your starter goes down and he's only going to miss a couple weeks, but you've got this player that you want to get on the field and you want to see how good he is.

Now he plays the second half last week. You've got a whole week of preparation with him this week. You can get a real sense of how well he does with a week's worth of preparation and when he's the starter without having to bench your starter. And if it doesn't work out, that's fine too. You can go back to the start. There's no loss of legitimacy in the locker room. There's no knock on his confidence because you had to pull him again to put Jimmy Garoppolo back in. There's no knock on Garoppolo because he's out due to injury.

So you get a real live look at your future now in a big game to see where he is. And then I believe they've got the buy week after that. so you get to go into the buy week with this additional information. So if you want to make the switch long term, now you've got that extra week to prepare them that much better. It's timing-wise, you never want you're starting to be injured. But this is a great spot for them to be in. Could you, coach, if you're a team that needs a quarterback this year,

if you're Miami and you're like, man, we should be able to compete. I don't think they'll do it. but Pittsburgh, they obviously are going to let Ben play out the string, but they obviously need a quarterback. Do you think someone could trade for Jimmy G. During the season and get him involved? Like, would that be effective or is it too much starting quarterbacked, changing teams, systems, everything that has to be done in the off season?

Yeah, well, first of all, I know you're not a fan of Ben Rothsburg, but can I just make a point that if they really think that Ben's not the answer in Pittsburgh, maybe you shouldn't have him throw 40 times every game. Maybe you should run the ball a little bit more there. I'm just saying, I know people want to kill Ben, but they could help him out a little bit. In terms of going to get a guy during the season, you can do it if you think it's going to be a significant upgrade,

but there still is that transition time, and are you going to bring him in and make everybody learn the system that he's most comfortable with because that's what makes him the most effective, or do you have them learn your system, which now there's going to be growing pains, even with veteran quarterbacks, because there's such volume to an offensive system.

Could it be done? Yeah, it would have to be a real significant upgrade to offset the challenges of the transition time that would go in to make them effective. Coach, hope to see you in New York City Sunday night for Bill's Chiefs game of the year. Buck, Pat, everyone else's game of the year. the actual game of the years next week.

You will have a warm plate of nachos ready for you in my living room to watch the game. Thank you so much, Coach. I'll talk to you soon. All right, we'll talk to you soon. Absolutely. There's my buddy, Eric Mangini. We're going to get to Joy Taylor with the news. I think there's some news out of Chicago that is just head scratching.

We've got to talk about the Kyler and the Rams or Kyler and the Cardinals at some point. And I want to talk more about Trey Lance because I do think he is the starter moving forward. We will do all that next. Nick Wright in for Colin on The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the HARD weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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. The story I've told myself about love or relationships

can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being,

and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land

while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports.

And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie.

I'm Tom Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried. worried about Polisic. I'm not worried about Balligan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions.

If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. It is Nick Wright in for Colin Cowherd on the herd, and we should have done herd line news about eight minutes ago,

but I have been on my Mike McCarthy style of clock management today, so we have screwed it all up. So let's get right to Heard Line News with Joy Taylor for wasting it. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News. That Mike McCarthy, clock management stuff is unbelievable. Do they not have clocks?

It's unbelievable. How do you not have someone that stands next to you? Like, hey, time out. The ref tried that. This is a week ago now. The ref should not be the one doing that. The rep walked over there, and the rep was like, hey, buddy, buddy, they're waiting for you to call time out.

With Mike McCarthy, it's so bad. It's not even, I don't question his clock management skills. I question his ability to tell time. Like, I think Mike McCarthy shows up three hours late for lunch. It's like, wait, what time is it? Oh, my God, I'm on illusion time again. Damn it. I got to get this iPhone corrected.

All right, go ahead. So after a pretty brutal loss to Cleveland's in his first start for the Bears, Justin Fields bounced back against the Lions this weekend. 209 yards, one interception. The offense scored touchdowns in their first two possessions, yes, big over-the-top pass, and had a season high, 3753 yards in this. 24-14 win. However, despite that performance and a win over a divisional team and the growth from his rookie quarterback, Matt Nagy, is still waiting to see what Andy Dalton's status is for this

week. We got to see where Andy's at, health-wise, these next two days. That's important because like we said this whole time, you know, when Andy's healthy, right, when he's healthy, he's our starter. He's the one, Justin's the two, next to three. So what's been great about this, you know, the last weeks is Justin's had the opportunity to play and get significant steps, and he's grown from it. So now we just got to see, like, where is Andy's health at? So if he's healthy, if he's good to go, then he'd be the start. Correct. At this point, I'm convinced the mob is involved.

It's the only logical explanation. The old Chicago mob. What was the reason? What is the reason? You drafted Justin Fields. You put him out there because Andy Dalton is hurt. He does what he's supposed to do. What else is there?

If he's out there and he's a disaster, okay, we can have that conversation. What is the point? The reason I was told, right? We were told that Justin Fields is not the starter. It's because you want to ease him into NFL play. You don't want to throw too much in him at once. You don't want to mess up his confidence, right? all those things, all these cliches that people throw out there

to justify not starting a rookie quarterback right away. I don't care if it's the Lions. It's a divisional team. The Lions can score points. They're an NFL team. This isn't Alabama against BYU or something. This is a real, no disrespect to BYU. It's actually a pretty decent team.

But you get my point. This is not an exhibition game. He beat an NFL team that is in his division. He looked competent. He showed growth. What is the purpose of putting Andy Dolan back out there? Well, Joy, you clearly don't know the deep, long-standing relationship between the Chicago Bears, their fans, the organization, and Andy Dalton. Oh, wait, he was signed four months ago.

None of it makes sense. Here's the only other thing. Joy is gone with the mob might be involved take, which is a strong take, a bold take. And by the way, any blogs out there should definitely post that without context. Here's the other one. I don't know if you saw the excerpts from, I know you did see the excerpts from the, from the, new Belichick Brady book with Wickersham. Better to be feared.

But it had a little drive-by of Bill O'Brien in there. Felt that Bill O'Brien at one point thought he could be the heir apparent in New England, but he was already in Houston. So he was trying, according to the book, trying to get fired in Houston. And that organization is so well run, they ended up promoting him. They're like, oh, that guy, we like the cut of his jib. He's like, I'm literally trying to get fired. They're like, how about more responsibility?

Is there a dream job out there that Matt Nagy's like, I just need to get free of this Bears gig for. Like maybe, I don't know, maybe he wants to open up a 16 handles. Who knows? Whatever it is, none of it makes sense to me. Because everyone wants you to play fields, and one would think he will have more of a margin of error as far as what their record is for as keeping his job.

If it's fields and not Dolton. None of it makes sense. I don't understand it. Enfields, if he had another six for 20 and was sacked nine times, that'd be one thing. He played well. That pass to Mooney is a better pass than Annie Dalton's made in five years. So I don't get it. None of it makes sense.

It's all bizarre. I'm not a huge conspiracy theory person. I like to operate off of facts and reality. And in this year of our Lord, 2021, it's the safest place to be. However, with what's happening in Chicago, I am now releasing the Cracken. As many conspiracy theories as you want to create or theorize is fair because this makes no sense. So it's really starting to get into a space where it's like, I need an actual explanation. The purpose of not starting a rookie quarterback is because he's not ready.

I didn't say Justin Fields went out there and threw five touchdowns. He did what he was supposed to do when they won the game. But the other guy's Dalton. But the other guy's Dalton. But that aside, like that aside, you don't, obviously Dalton is not the future. You drafted him. He's the future. The only anxiety about not starting him over Dalton would be that he's not ready and he's clearly ready.

So all conspiracy theories are free game at this point in Chicago. I endorse them all. So the Broncos have fallen from the unbeaten ranks after a 23-7 loss to the Ravens. Now, they did lose Teddy Bridgewater during the game. He left with a concussion and now has to enter league mandated concussion protocol. So depending on how the next few days go, this could keep him out of the Broncos next game. against the Steelers and Drew Locke would be the starter. Now, I wasn't particularly that high on the Broncos to begin with.

Colin obviously was much higher. I just felt like they beat up on really inferior opponents. Not that the Broncos are a terrible team, but they were good against the teams that they should beat, and that doesn't put you in a whole other category just because you are undefeated. However, I felt if they won this game this weekend, which I thought was available, had Teddy not gotten hurt,

then I would take everything I said and throw it out the window. But that's not how it went. And look, this is the issue that you have when Drew Locke is your backup. So I think things could pretty much derail quickly for the Broncos if Teddy doesn't get back out there soon. I think they're the worst team in the division. Are they better on the Chargers? No. Are they better on the Chiefs?

Obviously not. Are they better on the Raiders? I don't think so. And I'm telling you right now, Joy, Fox bet, mark it down. If it's Locke versus Big Ben with those two defenses, it's going to be the lowest over-under, the lowest total in the NFL in five years. What's the total of a Broncos Steelers Big Ben Drew Locke game? 36?

Like, what do we think the final score of that thing is? 1714 at most? So, I mean, that is, what's, I would imagine there will be more points scored by deep. In defense and special teams, then by offensive, it's those two. And so, yeah, that way, I like Teddy, by the way. And me saying to the worst team in the division, that's not an insult. It's an insult, but not totally. That's the second best division.

Yeah, no, it's a, it's a great division. It's clearly the best. Yeah. The AFC West doesn't have a single awful team, but just three, there are a lot of teams joy that if their schedule was Jets, Jags, Giants, would be three and off. Right. A lot of teams. And that's what the Broncos has.

Yeah, I agree. I mean, Drew was 12 for 21, 113 yards, no touchdowns won an interception. You're absolutely right. Although I don't bet the under. I can't live that way. I have enough anxiety as it is. So once again, Jimmy Garoppolo injured. He was unable to play in the second half against the Seahawks due to a calf injury. So I'll have an MRI today to get the full extent, and he's hoping it won't take too long to get back on the field. I'm hopeful just be a couple weeks or something like that. It sucked. I mean, just in between the series, I could feel it tightening up and everything. thing. Thought I could gut it out. I tried to for the first half. But it's just tough, man. I don't

know. Been in the situation too many times and it's getting real old. You know, so it's just one of those things, but part of the business stuff. Not entirely. Some people are more injury prone than others, and Jimmy G is that guy. And it's not an indictment of Jimmy G as an individual, but it's part of his story that he is always injured. That's why Tray Lance is there. It's not that Jimmy G is not a capable quarterback. We've seen what he can do when he's healthy. But if you have to say when he's healthy when you're talking about a player, that means they are unreliable, and availability is a skill. It just matters, especially at that position. So I believe they should move forward with Trey Lance, as long as he is capable, because at this point, the back

and forth, the speculation, which I also so think is Kyle Shanahan's fault for not making Jimmy G. the starter and announcing him as the starter in the preseason, you're now in a situation where you have to play Trey Lance. If Trey looks, he looks competent. yesterday, if he continues to progress, how are you going to go back to Jimmy G? That is exactly right. In fact, I want to elaborate on this. So there's Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. So listen, there's two major indictments on Jimmy Garoppolo, and Joy is absolutely right. You feel for him as a human being. But what's also true is a huge part about being a successful NFL player is,

is your body built to handle the punishment? There are plenty of guys who it's like, well, they could have been great, but they always got hurt. Sometimes it's fluky. Sometimes it's just your body's not built for it. Jimmy G's body doesn't appear to be built for it. But the other indictment on Jimmy G other than injury prone is he makes bad decisions. And yesterday he hit for the double.

He did both. The pick he threw was egregious. Over the middle, off his wrong foot, into coverage, unnecessary, early in the game. Just a vintage bad Jimmy Garoppolo decision. Just like the pick he threw at the beginning of the Super Bowl against the Chiefs, except at least this one, his eyes weren't closed. The one against the Chiefs, his eyes were actually closed.

So you have a quarterback that's going to make a lot of mistakes and a quarterback that's not going to be available for all 17 games. It's a huge problem. Now, if you didn't watch yesterday's game, Trey Lance's numbers are a little inflated. He hit Debo Samuel on the sideline. There was not a corner or a safety within 25 yards, and that turned into a 75-yard touchdown.

So the numbers weren't quite as, the game wasn't quite as good as the numbers suggest. But Trey Lance is going to have to be awful for me to go back to Jimmy Garoppola. And the example everyone always uses to argue for sitting the young quarterback is Mahomes. And what everyone gets wrong about that is, that was a mistake by the Chiefs. for Alex Smith's better than Jimmy Garoppolo and accomplished more than Jimmy Garoppolo

all that but set that aside that the Chiefs were dead in the water that season in the playoffs because their quarterback had such a limited ceiling the very eight months after they lost a home playoff game to the Titans they have a quarterback who's thrown for 50 touchdowns

and 5,000 yards he didn't do all that growth in the off season he would have been the better option for Kansas City at the midway point of that season. And they stuck with Alex Smith. And because he was good the next year, people are like, oh, that's why he was good. No, he was going to be good no matter what.

And so if you're the Niners, a team that I do believe is the coaching and the defense, and I know they've dealt with a lot of running injuries, but with the Shanahan's offense, the running game that is you can be a contender in the NFC. You need a high-upside quarterback. And that Kyle Shanahan rush attack with a mobile quarterback could be absolutely deadly.

So unless Trey Lance just cannot handle it at all, he should be the start of the rest of the year. And Jimmy G's next start should come for another team. He would have to be truly terrible for me to go back to Jimmy Garoppolo at any point this season. I think the Patriots, most notably Bill Belichick, showed you exactly what he thinks of Mack Jones with his decision on fourth down last night.

We'll discuss that next. Nick right in for Colin on the hurt. 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 podcasts.

I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope From a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex.

Wait, what sex? Is it just me, or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments.

If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis keep coming to. He's like, you. know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.