The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Final NFL Predictions

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

Colin gives his final NFL predictions before the start of the season Greg Cosell from NFL Films joins the show to breakdown the top QBs for week 1 of the NFL seasonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Chiefs Ravens open up the NFL season tonight, live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. Five minutes, Greg Kosell. This is what he does. He looks at film 45 years at NFL films. Nobody more honest and objective than Greg Kosell playing no favorites he'll join us in five minutes i think you and i tonight like the chiefs but we caution

everybody you're kind of going blind in these opening games also all the experts or what we call the sharps have just nibbled at all these lines so the worst week to bet is week one because the experts that by the way texas michigan the over under it opened it like 48 now it's down to 42 and a half so at 48 the bet was the under texas michigan Well, now it's down to 42 and a half. My guess is the over's the bet. So I strongly felt bet the under, it's low score. Now it's gone down so much almost a touchdown.

I think you can argue the over is the better bet. Yeah, and remember, you don't have to do a side. You can do Parley's teasers first half under, Chiefs Ravens. You might as well want to hit that. You know they're going to start out slow. Come on, it's week one. The guys aren't, Lamar didn't play in the preseason. So you don't have to straight up pick a side, Colin.

You get exotic. All right. Well, I'm all forget. getting exotic. Here we go. It's my NFL, my final NFL predictions, playoffs, seeding, divisions as we go into week one. I've watched the draft. I've watched the coaching hires. I've watched free agency. I've watched the camp. I've watched injuries. Here's what I see. AFC East, I'm making no changes. Bill's, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots, I think the Dolphins and the Jets play to the final weekend for a playoff spot. AFC North, I made a soft. I made a

slight alteration, Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Steelers, I flip Browns from fourth to third, the third to fourth. I'm not buying Pittsburgh. AFC South, I feel very strongly about the Texans, kind of a question mark after that, but I'll go Texans, Jags, Colts, Titans. AFC West, I think it's Kansas City's to lose. Chargers will challenge and be good immediately. Broncos better than people think with Bo Nicks, Raiders playing for fourth.

In the NFC East, Eagles easily have the best roster. My shocker in the NFL, my Houston of last year is Washington. Finish his second. Cowboys pull back. If C.D. Lamb got hurt. I don't even know what that offense is. And the Giants in fourth. NFC North, everybody likes the Lions.

I'll take the Packers to win. Lions wild card. Bears, Vikings. Very, very fun offensive teams with some limitations. Bears third, Vikings fourth. NFC South, I think the Falcons run away with it, though they may lose to Pittsburgh in the opener, Falcons, Bucks, Panther, Saints,

NFC, West, I am high on the Rams. Niners second, Seahawks, I don't know what to make of them. I like them in week one with rookie quarterback Bo Nix, but I don't know what to make a Seattle. I like their roster. I like it a lot, Arizona 4th. So my playoff teams will look like this.

In the AFC, the Bills, Ravens, Texans, Chiefs win the division. Joe Burroughs upright. He makes the playoffs. the Dolphins edging out the Jets in the final weekend and the Jags. By the way, Dolphins Jags meet this weekend. NFC, it's the Eagles, Packers, Falcons, Rams. Two excellent wildcard teams, the Niners and the Lions. Commanders probably a one and done in the playoffs, but I like their story.

They cleaned house. The building is better for it. There we go. Jay Mack is laughing and rolling his eyes. Somebody's got to come out of this league, shocking us. and Washington's my shocking pick. I don't hate that. I think, what did you say that you're high on the Rams?

Well, there's a saying, never get high on your own supply. Okay? And I think you're way off on the Rams. Where are my Jets? Coward, this is a colossal whiff by you. Bills and dolphins and no Jets? You're good about it. You know CoSelle's going to be in on the Jets.

Here we go. Greg Cosell, 45 years NFL films every Thursday, top of the hour, second hour, and he is joining us now live. So I think one of the more compelling games, and I've said this before, Greg, I can like a team, but not like him in week one. Rams have had some offensive line issues in camp, little musical chairs here. I don't love that. Here comes a team Detroit, stacked, healthy, did lose a kicker. But the Lions play 14 indoor games this year. Do you expect?

It's almost tailor-made for golf, his style indoor games. I would imagine the film tells you this is a Super Bowl-worthy team. Yeah, I would say that defense would be the question. They knew that they had to address the corner position because Aaron Glenn at his core, he's their defensive coordinator, Colin. He would like to pressure. And when he's pressured in the past, he didn't quite have the back end play to accommodate that. But he's very good, Aaron Glenn, with pressure concepts. I think that's the way he wants to go. So I think much will depend on their defense. Offensively, they've got a really good all line. You know, Goff, he's from the West Coast. Gough is one of your classic pocket quarterbacks. It's a really well-schemed passing game. They do a great job with the spacing of routes to attack and defeat zone coverage. So this is a really good pass game, and Gough is as good a pure pocket thrower as there is in the NFL. Matt Stafford and the Rams, they're young on the defensive side, five of their top six defense, but I thought last year, by the end of the year, it was a really

interesting unit. They've got the weapons. I think Blake, the kid out of Michigan, Corum, the running back will give them a tandem with Kyron Williams and Blake Corum. I like this team a lot. Your thoughts on the Rams. I'm high on them. Well, they've got the best

quarterback in the NFC and Matthew Stafford. They revamped their O-line. They've gotten bigger, and I think that's a function of how they want their run game to look. They run inside much more than they did, let's say, in the McVeigh years when they had Todd Gurley, when outside zone was the foundation. Now they run inside a lot more. More gap scheme runs with pulling linemen,

more what we call duo. Those are inside runs with double teams inside. That fits Kieran Williams. It will fit Blake Corum if he gets meaningful snaps. And as I said, they've got the best quarterback in the NFC. If Stafford can stay healthy, this is a contending team. So Jim Harbott, Stanford, he took over a mess, one in 11. First year he beat USC as a 40-point dog. He did it at Sanford. Francisco, they were a mess. He did it at Michigan. But he's never entered a rebuild with a great franchise guy in Justin Herbert. What do you expect year one? Well, you know, they obviously hired Greg Roman as their OC. So you know that he wants to establish a physical nature to his offense, that he does want to run the ball. That's been

his history. He's not going to change. I think what you'll see a lot of is the play action pass game with Herbert, put him under center, make the run game and the past game look similar. We know that Greg Roman is as good, a run game designer as there is in the NFL. So I think the offense will look different than it's looked. But you're dealing with a quarterback in Herbert, as you suggested, and it's true. In terms of pure physical traits, he's top three, four in the league. So the question is, how is the rest of the team going to look? You know, I think the sense is that Herbert can be the kind of guy that can carry a team at times.

I think people have questions about that. but physically traits-wise, he can do that. Aaron Rogers and Kirk Cousins are coming off Achille injuries. Aaron was always the more nimble, twitchy athlete. Do you, either one of them you expect more or less from? You know, I've always been a big Kirk Cousins guy. I know a lot of people look at him and think he hasn't played in a lot of big games or when he does, he doesn't play well.

But he is a very efficient quarterback. You know, he's one of those guys that if you reduce the quarterback position, to simplest terms, to, you know, throw to the right receiver with the right kind of throw at the right time, he is really good at that. You know, he makes good decisions and he throws it straight, and that's pretty much what you want your quarterback to do. So he's a very professional quarterback. I think an overlooked element of the Falcons, Colin, is they have a really good offensive line and everybody's back. You could make the argument, their old line is top five in the NFL, and I would expect Bejohn Robinson in that offense with Z.

Zach Robinson, who is now the OC there, I would expect them to run the ball very efficiently. Aaron Rogers, I'm very anxious to see. He's older. He's coming off a pretty significant injury. Two years ago when he played, I thought his legs were not quite the same. And I don't mean running around. I just mean the way that he played the game. His legs were not quite there the same way. But the bottom line is, we may have never seen anybody in the history of the league throw the ball better than Aaron Rogers. and if he can be protected, if Tyron Smith can stay healthy, then he may not have to move around a lot, and he can certainly throw the ball, and they've got weapons.

Okay, Philadelphia, when they had Shane Steichen, Siriani gave up play calling was magic. So here comes Kellyn Moore with Jalen Hertz. You know both Hertz and Kellyn's tendencies. What do you expect in that relationship? Hard to know, but I would say that what you're going to see is an offense that we think of more like the way the league is trending. You're going to see more motion.

You're going to see, I think, a little more creativity in the offense. You know, obviously they have a great O-line coach in Jeff Stallon and a great O. And I think they want to still count on that as a big factor. The question to me, and there's so much speculation, as you know, look, we have 16 new OCs in the league, 17 new D.C., so there's a lot of guesswork right now. but I'm very curious to see what the balance is going to be run-pass. Saquan Barkley is there.

You don't sign Barclay to carry the ball eight or nine times. We'll see how they plan on using him within the context of a complete offense. But I think you're going to see more creativity and definitely more emotion in their offense. Okay, so Jordan Love, it was a young offense. We saw him be great for about eight to nine weeks. There were questions out of Utah State. But I watched him, and I watched him go to Dallas, and I'm like, boy, there is a lot to like. When you watch the film during last year in the off season, is there another level?

I feel he's a little more far than Rogers. He's kind of willing to let it rip. You know, he's going to gunslinger a little bit. Do you think there's another level? And by the way, if there's not, that's okay, it's very good. What do you think we'll see with Jordan Love Year 2 as a starter? Well, there's always going to be another level because of the mental part, just getting more and more reps and seeing things. So there's always another level mentally.

You're talking about a quarterback that in terms of physical traits is top five in the NFL without question because of his size and his athleticism and his throwing ability. And I think what really stood out last year in the second half of the season was the mental part started to get much better. Better recognition of what the defense looked like pre-snap. Better understanding of how to use his cadence to make the defense declare. All the little things, the subtleties, the nuances that go into quarterback play that go beyond just the physical traits. That's so much of what the quarterback position is at this level where defenses are constantly trying to confuse you with what they do with disguise before the snap and then the late

movement post-snap. I thought Love really got better in those areas, and that's the kind of thing that will continue to improve. And then just managing a game, Colin, knowing when you take a shot, knowing when you don't take a shot, the things that no one really talks about that are so critical to quarterback play. It's easy for guys like me to say, wow, C.J. Stroud is good. But when did you, last year, wow, I mean, what did you see that his comp was Jared Goff at a college, which I said, that's a good comp. Jared made a Super Bowl. He's got a little more juice athletically, obviously.

But what makes C.J. Stroud, I mean, we know Lamarck and Ron or Josh is big and strong, But what's his secret sauce to you? And it's funny you mention that because it was week two last year against the Indianapolis Colts when I watched that tape and I said, wow, because the anticipation that he threw the ball with was otherworldly. You know, we always talk about playmaking from the pocket. Playmakers outside the pocket guys that can run around and make plays. Well, you can be a playmaker from the pocket if you have tremendous. anticipation. And I remember seeing a throw, it was to Nico Collins, who also had a great year,

where he hit him on an in-breaking route, a dig ball against the Colts week two. And I just ran that back 10-15 times because he threw the ball when Collins was on the numbers, okay, and he caught it between the hashes. And I just said to myself, that is high-level quarterback play. And so it was week two last year when I just saw the anticipation. And part of anticipation is also recognition of coverage. He is an outstanding window thrower, which you don't see a lot in college tape because the game is not like that. The college game is not like that, but the NFL game is, and it's because the hash marks

are closer together. So that's when it really hit me that, wow, this guy really is something special throwing the football. Good for the Texans. Fans, they deserve it. Let's now deep dive on Kansas City hosting Baltimore tonight. Maybe it's just Spags. I do think it's pretty clear.

is 20 and one against the NFC, and I said this yesterday, it's like driving on icy roads. If you grew up in San Diego, you can read a manual. Until you've done it, you can't experience it, right? Like, if you don't play Lamar regularly, you have no idea what you're getting the first time. But Kansas City has seen him multiple times now, and it does appear they have a little bit of a game plan. I'm guessing that's it, because he just literally eats NFC teams for lunch, even good teams well-coached. What does Kansas City do? against Lamar? A lot of pressure.

I mean, you can just go back last year to the AFC championship game, Colin. I think he dropped back 46 times, which of course is not exactly what the Ravens want. And I think on 19 or 20 of those, the Chiefs blitz, they rush five or more, and they posed major problems. Now, one thing to keep in mind, a critical, critical piece of the way the Chiefs have played the last couple of years under Steve Spagnolo has been a legarius need. because Steve Spagnolo believes in press coverage as the way the NFL is trending. And he does not have Sneed, who's a top two or three press man corner in this league. And now it's going to be interesting to see if he continues to play that way, because that goes along with his pressure concepts.

And Spaggs' pressure concepts can be a little different and a little more difficult to kind of figure out. So what happens is Lamar drops back, and he has to figure it out as he's dropping back. So we'll see, but pressure has been a major factor, and it's not only Lamar, it's obviously the entire offense. So we'll see. You know that they have been working on that from the day the schedule came out. So we'll see tonight how that plays out. Okay, in Kansas City's offense, it looks like they've upgraded it receiver, but I worry about their tackles. I worry about their tackles.

What do you think the offense looks like? It's funny, I think it'll be better on the perimeter. sure if it's better near the football. What say you? Yeah, well, one of the things people might not be aware of with the Chiefs the last couple of years is how much they play with multiple tight ends. I mean, I think the last couple of years, they're second or third in the league in terms of percentage of offensive snaps with two and three tight ends. So that's really foundational to the way they play. Now, obviously, they do not have Marquise Brown tonight. If they had him, who knows, maybe they're going to go

to more 11 personnel with three wide receivers as the year. year progresses. But I think you'll see them continue to play with multiple tight ends. They're playing against a different defensive coordinator, obviously, in Baltimore, Zach Gore has replaced Mike McDonald. That's an unknown. They probably are keeping a lot of the same concepts and principles, but you just don't know how Zach Gore is going to call a game. Yeah. And finally, Baltimore, Kansas City, the Greg CoSell play of the week. Yeah, I went back to the AFC championship game last I figure week one, Colin, we needed some marquee, you know. So we're going to get the Swifties all excited here.

We're going to show the Travis Kelsey touchdown, you know, from, I think it ended the first drive last year. So let's go to that play and show it because it was basically an unbelievable throw by Mahomes, and we're used to seeing him make these throws. And as I said, it was early in the game. So let's take a look at this. There's some real nuance to this play. So what you're going to see here is you're going to see Mahomes in the gun. It's 12 personnel.

Like I said, you're seeing two tight ends on the field. Now, there's going to be three potential rushers to the left side of the formation. There you see it. So they have three blockers for that, three offensive linemen. But there's also going to be three potential rushers to the right side, but there's only two offensive linemen. So what does Mahomes do? He moves Isaiah Pacheco to that side of the formation to make sure he's protected.

That's the nuance and the detail of playing quarterback. That's critical. So now you had Pacheco in position for the stacked linebacker if he were to come. So now what do you get? You get the two tight ends. It's man to man. The matchup to look at is Kelsey versus Kyle Hamilton, one of the best safeties in the league. Now look at it right here.

As it freezes, you're going to see the fact that Hamilton has really good coverage, but he's on the inside of Kelsey. So where does this ball have to be thrown to the outside? That's the only place to throw this ball. requires precise ball location, a trait that's not talked about enough, quite frankly, when you talk about quarterback play. And you can see it right here. Look where that ball is placed.

That is about as perfect as it gets. And we know Mahomes can do that. We don't need to spend a lot of time talking about how great Patrick Mahomes is, but that's a big time throw. Yeah, that's one of my favorite plays of the year because I get Mahomes Kelsey and the best young safety in football. That's just, if Kyle Hamilton can't defend it, You can't defend it.

That's well defended. He's a brilliant safety with great range. That's just, does Hall of Fame talent, three of them on one play. Yeah. No, and changing the protection was so critical. That's a nuance that young quarterbacks, you know, they're trying to learn all that stuff. Greg, as always, 45 years every Thursday at this time. I really look forward to it.

You nailed it again. Good seeing you, my man. Thanks, Colin. Look forward to it every week. Yeah, that was one of my favorite plays of the year. I mean, that was just high leverage, crucial moment. You got a tiny little football-sized window, and Mahomes did it. And that was good coverage.

Couldn't throw that ball anywhere else. 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. 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 huge.

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over the joint here's jacac with the news turn on the news this is the herd line news let's go to the nfl with bengal's patriots joe burrow remember he's had some training camp issues where he's been injured or illness and he hasn't played a lot. However, he feels totally ready, fully participated in camp, and he's in uncharted territory heading into year five. I think he's a big year for Burrow. Hopefully they get Chase back.

He was at practice yesterday. Oh, it was. Now, he's still not signed, so we don't know. But Jimar Chase is, you could probably plug him in and still get a bunch of snaps out. I always feel like running backs and wide receivers in corners, you can show up late to camp and deliver. I think they'll be fine. Yeah, I'm very interested to see what this Patriots team looks like with Mayo.

I mean, we've been banging on them for like four months, right? It's like rookie coach, clunky quarterback situation, really poor skill position guys. Can they win with defense when two of their defensive linemen are gone now due to injury and trade? It's like I don't know what to make of this. This could be like a two-win team on the Patriots. Well, I think the good news if you're a Patriot fan, Drake may in the preseason kind of felt like We kind of got our guy. He's not Herbert, but there's some similarities.

All the draft expert said, he's got a little Herbert, and you saw a little Herbert. And then next year, first or second pick, J-Mack, you can trade that puppy down and get picks. Because you know there's going to be six teams wanting a quarterback, and there's going to be more than one quarterback. The Beck kid should do her Sanders right there. So it's a two-layer rebuild. Get the quarterback, be bad, and then trade down that pick like the Bears did. You get a Carolina pick, and all of a sudden you get 13-pillar. Hicks, it doesn't take long.

Go up. Houston, Texans, were a laughing stock. I think they have one of the top five rosters of the league now. Yeah, building around the rookie smart. Like, what do you make of the Patriots like dumping Juju Smith-Schuster? And the Chiefs are like, yeah, we'll take Juju. He's been with us. He's going to fight.

He was always a good fit for the right number. So when he wanted money, Kansas City said, he said, you go to New England. Now he didn't do anything in New England. The number's right. So Juju works for this team as a, three, right? Like, it'll be Rishi Risenworthy or the more dynamic.

He can be a very dependable three. If you remember in Kansas City, one of his last games, he had a very productive playoff game. Hollywood Brown comes back. Yeah, we don't win. It feels like their O lines worse in Kansas City. They're receiving course better. Yeah, I agree.

Let's move on to the Chargers, Justin Herbert. He was in that walking boot for early August, dealing with plantar fascia injury to his right foot. But with week one just a few days away, Herbert has shed the boot and will not wear any special gear to support the foot Sunday. Here's Herbert on the injury. It was just one of those things that I went in. It was getting a little sore and talked to him about it.

But there wasn't really one moment that I felt it happened. I came back, got it. But I think over the past couple of weeks of being out, you know, I did my best to pick up as much as I could in meetings, be out there and walkthroughs and do everything I can. can to not miss a rep. It's definitely tough. And so I think I felt comfortable with the plan. We all were on the same page. And as long as I'm doing everything I can, treatment-wise, to take care of it, it shouldn't be an issue. So excited. This is a stay-away game for me because it'll be a 65-35

Raider crowd. And I think the Raiders are not good, but don't know that yet. And we'll play their tails off. It'll be a very, very physical game. This could be one of the more physical games of the weekend, kind of ugly and choppy. Chargers win late off a Herbert play, but if this was like 2320, I think the line is right. I think it's ugly and choppy, but I think

the Chargers figure out with Harbon Herbert a way to win. So in the offseason, they had a ton of newness. I'm looking at their lineup. So McConkey, the rookie's going to start. It looks like, this is crazy. The kid Rice, who came to the studio, remember Jerry Rice's son?

Okay, yes. Looks like he may start Okay. What did I say? What did I say during the draft? How in the hell did he fall to the seventh round? I thought he was every GM I talked, because I asked him, because I had him on the show, every GM said late fourth, maybe top fifth, but he's a fourth fifth. How did he end up in the seventh round?

Something feels off. So a poor football focus says they're going to start all at right tackle, two new receivers, new tight end in Haydenhurst, new running back in J.K. Dobbin. I'm fading the first half. I went under 20. I think it's a good call. I think it's a really ugly choppy. I think the Cowboys Browns and the Chargers Raiders is going to be an ugly first half.

I mean, like 10-3, and then it'll start to- Pick up in the second half. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, listen, I know we keep saying we're excited for all these games, but I really like Jim Harbaugh. You know, the guy's a winner everywhere he goes. I'm excited to see what he produces. Oh, I can't wait.

Chargers. Final story is Kirk Cousins making his debut against the Steelers. It's the first time he's playing since October 29th of last year when he popped the Achilles. Rahim Morris, the new head coach in Atlanta, opted to hold Cousins out of the preseason, and the quarterback is eager for his first live hit. In a sick way, you do. Get popped. I'll probably tell the first guy hits me, thank you, within reason.

You know, it's good. Get that taste of blood in your mouth a little bit. it. So, yeah, it's a balance there. But no, there's no doubt. Red Jersey is not real football. I said that for a long time. The red jersey is not real football, and I understand why we wear them, but there's no substitute for the real deal. Really interesting game. Feels like a stayaway game for me. I like Atlanta to win their division and the Steelers to be fourth. But a week one game, stay away. I think there's going to be two or three upsets. This feels like potentially Pittsburgh.

knocking them off, but I think by the end of the year, Atlanta's an 11-12-win team. So from a betting perspective, the public is hammering the Steelers. Mike Tomlin is an underdog, you know? Great, great. And the real big money is on the Falcons, who everybody thinks are going to have an offense that's going to surprise some people

this year. Yeah, 10 wins, you think? 11? Oh, I do. I do Atlanta. Yeah. I mean, they're going to, they could go 5 and 1 in their division. By most metrics, easiest schedule in the league. No, there's not a two-game stretch. where you look at it and go, whoa.

I mean, there are teams out there I like. Well, I mean, look at this. Eagles Chiefs at Weeks 2 and 3. Other than that, okay, but I'm still waiting to figure out what Philly is. That's fair. Weeks 2 and 3. But boy, there is a lot of Raiders into the Giants,

into the commanders, into the Panthers. I mean, at one point it's Saints. Broncos by. There's a lot of openings here. If the Saints lose to the Panthers this weekend, we're going to be talking about the Saints as one of the bottom feeders in the league, And then it's like blow up the coach.

I mean, do they move off car already? Do they draft a quarterback? No, I think they move off the coach. You had Saints last in the division, didn't you? Yeah, yeah. Last year I would have had them last. Some guy talked me in. It was your big play.

That's all. I remember the toughest loss I had all year last year, betting was like in week. I think it was like week two. I had a doink game where if they had made a field goal at doin't, and I lost so it's a double doink. Double doink. That was tough.

I bailed. Emotionally, I barely talk to you for the next month. Jay back. Jay Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. So I thought this year the Big Ten is exploding and expanding conference realignment.

We're going to call it Big Betts on Thursday, final segment of the hour. And then we'll pick our three games we like. It's tough because the wise guys have picked these lines apart. But we'll have our big bets coming up next. plus Caitlin Clark. She's better than we thought. She's better sooner than we thought. And it's only starting.

This is the fearless tour, not the era tour for the Swifties. This is the first tour for Taylor Swift. We'll talk about both coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. He's Mike Harmon. I'm Dan Bayer, and we have a fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flex. That's right, Dan. Every week we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup. It starts. Fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition.

Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Byer, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the, enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam, this Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed.

He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now everybody over here? Oh, it's one of my other favorite places. The Twilight Gazebo. Sunset Gardens. Twilight Gazebo. What's next? Dead Man's Grove? Mom, could you please try to be a little bit positive about this? From Kenya Barris, the visionary creator of Blackish, comes Big Age, an audible original about finding your way in life's next chapter. This audio comedy series follows a retired couple's reluctant relocation to Sunset Gardens, a Floridian senior community that is anything but relaxing. Starring Comedy Legends Jennifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Nisi Nashvettes.

Through its blend of outrageous comedy, key party anyone, and touching revelations, Big Age explores what it means to grow older without growing old at heart. Go to audible.com slash big age series to start listening today. What would you eat if you had to start over? Real simple, poor man. Poor woman's food. Black beans, chicken, rice, plantains. Yeah.

That's always, that's poor people's food, man. But being Nigeria, that's, come on, a go-to. On the podcast eating while broke, I sit down with celebrities, entrepreneurs, and creators as they revisit the meals they once relied on and the moments that shaped their journey. Named Best Food Podcasts at the 2006 IHeart Podcast Awards, this show is all about real conversations on money, growth, and what it really takes to make it. It was times where me and Lexa definitely get into it. Because we're not making any money.

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Listen to Eating Wall Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells. out help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me

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Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Coultera Podcast Network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. at big bets. We each pick three Big Ten games, and there's some interesting ones all season. We're not even into conference play yet, but it's a fantastic weekend. And I'll go first to start

this puppy. Let's start with a Nebraska fight song. Whatever it's called, go Big Red or whatever. Let's start with that fight song. My first bet of the week, Nebraska minus seven and a half against Colorado. Nebraska lost more close games than the last month

four than anybody in the country last year. Their defense was excellent. It's now better. They had their best recruiting class in Nebraska football history. Matt Rule lost close last year. Colorado, last six times they faced a Power Five conference opponent. They lost all of them. They've got the two best players in this game.

They don't beat anybody. I think Nebraska rolls. Shucks. We're head to head right out of the gate. You want me to go now? I'm going to go with Colorado, and the Buffalo is getting seven and a half. half. So Colin, when this line came out, I was like, what the heck? Seven and a half that feels inflated. I think of a lot, a lot of it has to do with an overreaction to Colorado struggling with

North Dakota State, right? And Nebraska looking great. Nobody wants to bet this Colorado team, except me, the moron who's willing to take, I think, undervalued. Just remember, Shendor Sanders, who threw for 400 and whatever yards, he's going to keep chucking all game long. And it's not like the Nebraska defense is great. I expect Nebraska to win, but give me the cover for Sodor Sanders in Colorado. Next up, I'll take Oregon at home. Awful against Idaho. They hammer Boise State.

It's minus 20. I'd love to keep it closer, but I'm going to take Oregon. They return 11 starters, including for their top five receivers, and Boise State's past defense was taken apart by Georgia Southern. Oregon was embarrassed in a win over Idaho, was pushed all over the field. It's just it was one of those. They didn't unveil much. They got outplayed.

They weren't focused. They will punish Boise State. Oregon also had the number two transfer class. They've got all sorts of new people. This puppy is going to take some time to get going. I think they bounce back and win comfortably. 100% agreement. I bet Oregon at 19, 19 and a half.

It's at 20 now. People are missing the boat here. So last week, like you said, they didn't show much. Two of their best defenders barely played. They were kind of nicked up. They're like, we need to save these guys. I think this is an Oregon team. really goes big play action here. Remember they were doing a lot of dink and dunk stuff last week,

a lot of running. They had a walk-on start at center last week. It's like, oh, guys, let's not overreact to an ugly game against the Idaho vandals. I think Oregon lays the lumber to Boise Stadium. Yeah. All right. Texas, Michigan, I think it's close and low scoring. I was either going to take Michigan in the points. I'm going to take the under at 42 and a half. Now, that's not the best of the number. It started like 47. So again, the number's been picked apart, but I think what you're going to see is a super close game where Texas late third quarter early fourth pulls away and wins. But this is a big spot for Texas. They have a ton of pressure. And Michigan's defense is outstanding. Here's the thing about Michigan. They're replacing 18 to 22 starters. So they're not

as good as Texas. But they're going to play with a ton of pride. This is going to be an, it's like Notre Dame. I worry about the offense. Notre Dame and Michigan defense. I don't worry about. Steve This Archesian has been a little tight in these big games against top 10 teams. Texas will steamroll the teams they should. They've been hot and cold in these big games. I think it's low scoring. I'll take the under, and I think it's very close. I'm with you.

They're kind of a bully, right? Against the inferior teams, they just blast them, and then you go up, step up in class. This is a tough one. I took Michigan getting seven. Colin, this summer they released the big games in Vegas. You could bet on this was minus four for Texas. Now it's all of a sudden seven, seven. a half based on one week. Week two in college football, I like to fade the narratives from a week

ago. Everybody overreacts to one week one. I think things return to normal. See, I'll take Texas in a close one, but Michigan should be able to cover them. Yeah, I think it's 10-3 at half, 10-6, really ugly and low scoring. And because Texas is a favorite, don't be surprised if they come in, not a bunch of big swings. I do wonder, the Quinn Ewers, you're not as high on him as I But Arch Manning, the stadium erupted when he merely went in the game last week. There are people waiting for that error to begin. And I just wonder if your struggles against the Michigan defense, you know Moore is going to dial up some stuff here. Do we start to hear, hey, is it Arch Manning time?

I don't know. We'll see. We basically have two agreements. We disagree on Nebraska, Colorado, but it feels like you do think Nebraska wins. Yeah. It's just a number. Colorado is going to be a backdoor special all season. Shador Sanders, Travis Hunter.

When those guys are healthy, they'll be able to score on anybody. The two best players in this game are Colorado's. Right. The better defense. If you watched Colorado's defense last week against North Dakota State, it's not good. It's not good. And it wasn't good last year. It's not good now.

All right. So it's called Big Betts. We'll keep track all season. Have some fun with it. So Caitlin Clark last night, the Indiana Fever won again over the L.A. Sparks. She was unbelievable. 10 assists, 24 points.

she was just named earlier in the day NBA WNBA rookie of the month Eastern Conference player of the month for August so we said this yesterday Caitlin Clark is way better way sooner than anybody thought and if you think the players in this league are a little petty now what's going to happen next year when she's maybe the best player in the league

and what's going to happen if she wins a playoff series Remember, this is a young and ascending Indiana team. They have multiple former number one picks, none of them yet in their prime. So this team, she has changed their pace, their confidence, their shooting, their playmaking, their tempo. And I was saying this is the Taylor Swift Fearless Tour. She was a star. She won a megastar. So for all this pettiness, you know, basketball historically, when Magic or a Bird come into the league,

You know, we all kind of Wembe or Zion, John, Moran, NBA players tend to embrace the new guys. They like the fun. They like the dunk contest. It's not worked that way in the WNBA. So I just, I'm watching her, and she is now outside of Asia Wilson. She's in an argument for the second most valuable and important player in the league. You know, Player of the Month, Eastern Conference, this thing, she is really good, really fast. and again last night

and what's also interesting Indiana now now this league only has like 40 regular season games they come home for like a six game homestand that's like a 12 game NBA homestand they don't do that so this the league remember they burdened her

with that brutal road schedule early she went one and eight okay and she's still as a one and eight player getting pushed around and kind of remember she had the turnovers early her game was really uneven. She became the biggest star in the league.

Now she's arguably top two or three player in the league. Indiana is going to make the playoffs. She's player of the month. Indiana could win a playoff series. What happens in this off season when she got advertisers lined up? Now we acknowledge. So this pettiness by the WNBA players, it better end soon. Because this is just the beginning of the Caitlin Clark avalanche.

She starts winning a series with all these multisible, number one picks, they're going to be a powerhouse in this league for a long time. And now they're going for a long, bizarre home stand. Indiana's schedule has been so uneven. Maybe they balanced it that way to have her play a bunch of home games to end the season and get publicity. But before the All-Star game, she's averaging 17 a game. But remember, in the WNBA, you play college basketball, you get very little time off, and you go right in the camp. She finally got a break.

she is a completely different player after the All-Star game. She went from shooting 40% to 48%. That's a different player. 32% on threes to 39%. 17 a game to 25. And so Caitlin Clark is, this is the real Caitlin Clark. This is the rookie that got the All-Star break. She got this long siesta, this break,

and she is now on fire as the top playmaker in the league. And I just can't wait to watch the playoffs. here because this is like a team bubbling with all these former number one picks. And they host the All-Star game last year. So the league, to their credit, it took them a while to figure it out. They stumbled. They figured it out. The players in this league better figure it out because this team is going nowhere.

All right. Week 1 NFL schedule. It starts tonight. It's the Ravens, a slight underdog, going to the campaign. Kansas City Chiefs. Now, Friday, bizarrely, you know, it's interesting. The NFL for years and years, they love the Sunday early window, the Sunday late window, and then Monday night football.

Well, the NFL's now set. We're going to play a Netflix Christmas Day game on Wednesday. We got Thursday. Friday, tomorrow, we get Packers, Eagles in Brazil. So there's a Wednesday game, a Thursday game. There's a Friday game. There's Sunday games. There's Monday games.

I think Tuesday is the only game they're not playing. and the only day of the week they're not playing. So my takeaway on week one is that the bad teams don't know they're bad. And so like the Chargers, Raiders, Charger or a double-digit win team potentially. Raiders aren't. They don't know that. The Titans and the Bears, Titans aren't a very good football team. They don't know it yet.

They'll give Chicago everything they can handle. One of the games I feel really strongly about, and it's hard to have great conviction week one because we don't know what we don't know. I find Bo Nix and Sean Payton at Seattle fascinating. Rookie quarterbacks starting in week one do not win in this league. And Seattle has got this young Domingo Ryan's like defensive coach up in Seattle with some pretty good personnel. Young personnel, but pretty good. That is a rough, rough start for Bo Nix and Sean Peyton and Seattle.

Seattle. That's one of the games. Forget the line, the odds. That's a tough opening act for Bo Nix and Sean Payton. Is there a game to you that jumps out? If I said to you, pick the upset. Give me the upset in week one. Where's the upset? Colts over the Texans. I saw a lot of people taking the Texans to win the Super Bowl, go to the Super Bowl. Like, they're going to be good, but... How about this one? Arizona over the bills. I did bet that. I'm on Arizona, but I, I, I, win the game. Come on. Kyle Murray, you trust him on the road.

I thought Josh Allen was like the second best quarterback in the league or something. He's got to lose it. He's not going 17 and 0. Nobody's going 7. I mean, I think Kansas City could win the Super Bowl. They'll win 12 games. They'll win 12.

That's it. Rams will win 13. But there's going to 12. The excitement. Arizona over Buffalo. We're both on Arizona. I can't believe you're going against your guy, Jared Gauphin. the opener. Wow. No, no, I didn't say that. You love the Rams. I love the Rams for the season.

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

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard 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

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