The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - Bears HC Ben Johnson joins The Herd

Episode Date: May 15, 2025

Colin talks to new Bears head coach Ben Johnson about his vision for Caleb Williams and Chicago's offenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Find your local station for The Herd at Fox SportsRed.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. I thought Chicago's whole line would get better last year. It got worse. He completed 62.5% of his throws running for his life. 20 touchdown passes only six picks. Now he was sacked 68 times. But the numbers aren't, you know, I mean only six picks,

62 and a half percent completion percentage, running for his life in a division that had Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota, all really good teams. So I don't think Minnesota is going to be as good. this year and I think Caleb's got a much better quarterback. Also the story coming out today, Seth Wickersham had talked to Caleb's father, Carl, William, and reporting that Carl did not want his son initially to play in Chicago, and Albert Breer addressed that an hour ago. His dad's a very smart and accomplished businessman and taught his son to think differently,

and the reality is, like, this is something that all teams were looking into, and anybody that was it going to be in a position to draft him, was concerned about this. You can understand his concern, certainly. You know, I think this is something that more and more athletes think about. And, you know, it's something we heard about with Shadour a lot, you know, going into his draft. A lot of times, you know, I think these guys are able to take a bigger picture view of it. And the bigger picture view of it would show that going to the right place is absolutely more important than getting drafted as high as you can. Yeah, I think, listen, I never had a problem.

I reported this a year ago. I said, you know, his dad had some misgivings about it, but Caleb's like, you know what, I'm going to go to Chicago. It's a great American city, and I'm going to be their first great quarterback. So I always like Caleb. I got along with him great. He's very respectful. I went to the Notre Dame USC game, and I told the story as I saw his dad, said hi to his dad.

And Caleb was sitting in the front row with friends, and I came down and just out of respect. I just tapped him on the shoulder. I said, hey, buddy. Just great seeing you. He got up, made a point, and I'm like, you don't have to get up. I just want to say, hey, keep kicking butt. You're going to do great. And very respectful, got up, came up the stairs.

Caleb did. And I was like, I just think he's a really, I really like him. And I also think sometimes it's unfair that, you know, all these quarterbacks now, the NIL, they are stars coming out of college. Bill Parcell is a brilliant guy used to say, do not draft a celebrity quarterback. Well, Baker Mayfield was a star. Sam Donald. You know, he was a star. Caleb's a star.

I mean, you know, it's just the reality of it. I mean, Bo Nix at Oregon. I mean, everybody knew Bo Nix for the last five years. I think the world's changed. These kids make money in college. Take a deep breath. With that, Ben Johnson now is joining us, the new Bears coach is joining us live. So, you know, it's funny.

When you forget about this coach is that, you know, I was looking, and people forget Tua came out of college, didn't have a great fit with the staff. You know, he and the Brian Flores struggle got Mike McDaniel's problem. Jared Goff got a defensive coach. You get a great stuff? Boom. Here comes McVeigh Pops. So listen, we all said last year, I said,

it's just easier to get an offensive coach. Go ask Bo Nix and Sean Payton. It just helps. Did you feel, when you first sat down with Caleb, I've got to build this kid's confidence up like a Tua, like a golf. It's rough. It's a hard sport.

Did you feel that was part of your process? I want to make sure this kid knows we really believe in him. Yeah. Well, he does know that we believe in him. There's no question about that. But Caleb's deal has never been a confidence issue. He knows he's a high-level player. He's been that way since middle school, high school, college,

and it's going to continue to be that way here in the NFL. But what we're trying to do is we're trying to support him, give him some clarity on what our expectations are on and off the field and help him grow and develop. And so far, we've only had, call it six weeks now, the all-season program, it's going really well. So you've got two new coordinators. You're a first-time head coach.

Caleb's in year two. Who do you lean on in that locker room, Ben? What player or maybe unit? Is it Tuny? Is it Dolman? Who do you lean on in that offense? We've got a number of players offensively and defensively that have pro-bowls under their belt,

that have playoff, game experience, win experience. And so I think when you look at that, those are the guys not just for Caleb, but for the entire team that we're leaning on to show us what good football looks like, what good teams do, and to establish that standard for the rest of us to fall into line. And so Tune is a great name on offense. I mean, I don't know that anybody's had quite the level of success on our entire roster that he's had. Call it six Super Bowls, and he's won four of them. I mean, it's outstanding.

And then you go over to phase two drill work out on the field, and he's busting his rear end. and he just had a Super Bowl that he was in a few weeks ago. So, I mean, it's pretty outstanding, and it doesn't take long for somebody that first time these rookies coming in, they turn and they see how he goes about his business, and pretty quickly they understand, well, if I want to last a long time, I need to just do what he does.

So I asked a GM, a very, very good GM in the NFL recently about you, and he said, you know, he goes, most coaches, we hire CEOs now. It's a CEO job. He said, you get occasionally lucky with a shant. or Andy Reid that they're scheme geniuses and they can do CEO. That's really hard. And he said, Ben has a chance to do that. Ben's excellent on scheme.

And he has the personality. A lot of guys in the league think Ben has the chance to be the CEO. But most, it's a CEO job now more than it is X's and O's. So is the difficulty with you, Ben, you're going to be on that headset. How do you manage yourself to go, no, no, no, I'm the CEO here. Because there are things that happen on a sideline in game. where you've got to put the CEO hat on and you can't be a mile deep on calling place. Will that be hard on the first call you disagree with coming to the headset?

Well, shoot. I mean, yeah, everything that, everything I'm doing right now, springtime training, it's my first time doing it. So there'll be some things that pop up that I got to work through and find the best process for not only myself, but what's best for the team. That's the most important thing. And the fortunate thing is the way this staff has been constructed is with that in mind. A lot of my blind spots or the areas that I could use the most help in, we've got some really good experience coaches with Dennis Allen or Richard Hightower on defense and special teams. On offense, we got Eric B. Enemy that's coordinated in this league, press taylor that's coordinated in this league. So there's there's a lot of high level experience

throughout this coaching staff that they're going to help foresee any any bumps in the road and help me navigate. On game day, we got a great game management guy of the name Harry He's done it for a long time and he's going to be able to help me stay ahead of that because I really haven't. As a play caller, you have to be exposed to that and understand those situations. But now it's a little bit different moving over to the defensive side of the ball and being on the headset with them when they're up. So one of the things I liked about Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams coming out of college, they move a lot. You get all the upside. Not a lot of picks.

It's a little Mahomes. Aaron Rogers in his prime, didn't throw a lot of picks. most great quarterbacks Elway, Manning, Farve, they throw picks. Andrew Luck, it's part of the deal. Caleb doesn't. Now, some have said, well, he holds the ball long, whatever. I mean, he's a playmaker.

The criticism I heard out of college from GMs with rings was he is so gifted, and we saw a little bit of this with Mahomes, sometimes you've got to just give him layups. Just take what the defense gives you. How do you coached? that because it's a strength, it can be a little bit of a burden that great athleticism.

How do you coach that? Well, I think it starts with what we're doing right now in the springtime is establishing the intent of every play call. And that takes time and it takes a number of reps. But the more time we spend together with myself, with Declan Doyle, our offensive coordinator, with J.T. Barrett, our quarterback coach, in that room with the quarterbacks, the more it comes to light and why we're calling plays and where that ball should go. And the more the quarterback understands, the why, the quicker he is to see the defense and deliver the ball to the primary or the secondary targets.

So that's what we're working through right now. At the end of the day, though, Caleb was taken as a high draft pick because of that playmaking ability that you're alluding to. And so we don't want to neuter that as well. So there's a fine line of understanding what we're doing and how we're doing it. but at the same time when things don't go maybe to plan, we're not going to discourage his playmaking ability and his ability to create outside of the pocket as well.

So that's going to be a fun balance for us to go through both spring and training camp. I mean, we can't get enough reps right now really as a team. And so we're looking to maximize those going forward. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live. or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?

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On my new podcast, learn the heart. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. So offensive line is to me the most underrated unit in the sport, but it's also the hardest to create cohesion. You've got a young guy. You got a rookie. You got Drew Dolman. You got Joe Tuny. You've got a lot of moving parts here. I think potentially it could be great. But I've seen a bit of a trend over the last five to six years that veterans aren't playing preseason football. So you're going to have this September, you're going to get a lot of the work in for the tunis. you don't want to put him out there and get banged up. I looked at your schedule and I said, well, the toughest part of their schedule is late.

They're going to have until Thanksgiving to get that puppy rolling. You don't want to face the toughest part in the first four weeks. Not that your early schedule is easy, but at the end, you're facing defensive fronts that can be substantially tough. How long, what is realistic to say, okay, Dolman, Tune, the rookie, what is a realistic time to go? okay, we are a cohesive top 10 unit. Yeah. I think that's going to be the challenge there during training camp is how quickly can we come together. I mean, they're really bonding as a unit right now communication-wise, but we don't have the pads on. I think we need the pads on before we truly start jelling

together. So training camp's going to be critical for us. I actually like where that bi-week is because it usually takes about four weeks into the season to find out who you are as a team. and which you do well and what you don't do well. And then Beth, that's at a good time so that we can reflect on that as a coaching staff to really hone in on what we want to be for the remaining three quarters of the season. I would say my experience has been when you get a new group together, it could take up to half the season before they really start to mesh and come together in terms of the run game more so than pass pro.

I think we should be a pretty good pass pro unit right off the gym. jump, but that run game, the communication, the angles with which we're all going, trusting each other, particularly in the wide zone scheme that we're installing right now in OTAs, that's something that we want to make sure that we get plenty of time on task on. So all human beings are the same in one aspect. If you're afraid of flying and you're on a plane and the minute turbulence hits, where does your mind go? Back to your fears.

So I reported a year ago, Seth Wickersham reported it today, that Caleb was worried about the history of the bear's offense. And so you didn't inherit it. That's not your issue. You don't care about that. But there is a psychology, Ben, that's true. He goes into a two-week losing streak, and it's turbulence on a plane that he was scared to fly anyway. How do you ensure that when there are bumps in this division and there are bumps for him, that those fears that are not, reported of oh man this organization and quarterback he's had those that's okay some installed by his

dad whatever how do you ensure during the turbulence of this season and there will be your division's too good there's too many good teams on the schedule how do you ensure he doesn't lose faith and belief in your system well you talk about fears and i i don't see it quite the same way i see this is what a great opportunity we have to do something that really has never been done. There hasn't been a 4,000-yard passer here in this franchise, and I think Caleb's going to be the first one, and one of many years, many seasons to come where he's able to accomplish that feat. So I see a chance for greatness here for him. He's been communicated that way, and he feels the same way. I don't know what's gone on prior to him joining the organization, but he

He is very proud to be a Chicago bear. That's what our conversations have included, and he's really excited to get to work right now and be the best version of himself for 2025. There's no question. We're going to face adversity. Both he will, he's not going to, we want to see growth from here to here over the course of season.

It's not going to be linear growth. It's going to be a little bit of ups and downs and stair steps along the way, but we want to see from game one to game 17 that we're getting better as a whole. And that's not just him. That's us as a team as well. So I'm excited. That's what makes coaching fun

is when the hiccups occur, when the adversity strikes. How do we respond to it? That's when you find out who you are as a man. Finally, was there a moment in your practices and seeing Caleb? It could have been a throw.

It could have been something that you went, oh, that's pretty good. Have you had one of those moments yet where you were just like, yeah, no, no, I see it. I see the number one pick. That's every day. That's every day we're out there. Routes versus air.

We're changing maybe some footwork and some coaching points with what we're working through right now. But today it was a post route that he probably threw it 60 yards right on the money. A few days ago, it was a keeper. He's out of the pocket going to the left, and he just able to flip his hips and fling that thing right on the money. So he's got such great God-given ability that we're looking to tap into. You see it every day right now. Like I said, it's going to be more fun once we get the competitive nature of offense versus defense a little bit in OTAs. Coach, it is great seeing you.

All I see is a smile. All you coaches smile so much during this period. Keep the smile through the scene. Don't let the league beat you down as a head coach. It's great seeing you. You got it. Thanks, Colin. Thanks for having me on.

All right, Coach. Thank you. No, I think those are good answers. And my takeaway on this story is it's not Ben Johnson's issue. But if you're afraid of flying, when you hit turbulence, where does your mind go? Right back to, we're going down. And if Caleb goes into a two-game winning streak, is he going to be, oh, boy, this is last year. How do you keep them on track?

Self-belief. Caleb's got confidence. We all, you know, A-Rod got moved down to eighth in a batting order. I don't care how great an athlete are. You struggle. It gets into your head. J-MAC with him. news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, let's start with a team in the NFL that you know I love to hate on. That's the New York football giants, the second best team in New York City. Colin, they have a brutal schedule. New York's opponents boast a 57% win percentage based on last year. And open, they start the season with six playoff teams in their first eight weeks.

This is a rigorous schedule. I think if Brian Dable were smart, he would already start looking for an exit door. He should start looking at his other options around the league, because I'm telling you right now, if they start two and seven, I think that's generous. Find me the second win in their first nine games, Colin. Well, what's really interesting to me, because Dave Ball can coach and he'll get a job. What's interesting is, what do you do with Jackson Dart? So, you know, at some point, they went all in on Jackson Dart.

As you pointed out yesterday, it doesn't mean the next guy's will. don't see Jackson Dart as a top 10 quarterback in the league. And I think if you draft a quarterback in the first round, your hope is always they become a top 10 quarterback. I think Bo Nix has a chance to be somewhere 10, 11, 12 eventually, maybe it's this year. So it'll be interesting. I'm at the most interesting part of this team is watching Jackson Dart because Russell's going to get the nod, absolutely, but this schedule's too good not to have a three and four game losing street. When it happens, when do you go with Jackson Dart? So that, this is not a playoff. This is not a roster offensively built.

Yeah. But I do, listen, I'd rather be right than wrong. I want to see Jackson Dart prove me wrong. All right. Humor me for a second. Let's call up the schedule. Colin, they're going to be at least a seven-point underdog. I mean, if you want to say four and a half, fine.

But I think six or seven-point dog in a lot of these games, certainly against Washington. Dallas, you know, probably a coin flip there. But I think Dallas probably wins that game. Kansas City, they're big. underdogs even at home. Okay, that's going to be on Sunday night football as well. The Chargers are going to be favored. The Saints game is the one they should win. They should face a bad quarterback finally. Eagles are going to be dogs. I'm just telling you right now, this Denver team, I love the Denver defense. They're the first bet I'm making in week one. We'll talk about that

later on. But I think Denver smashes the New York Giants. And then the Eagles again and then San Fran. Colin, two and seven start? I just don't see where the upside is for Jackson Dart. Dable. They need utter miracle to get anywhere near 500 midway through the season. Yeah, I mean, look at the Niners schedule and look at the giant schedule. I mean, it's not the same sport. I mean, you face Jaden Daniels, Dac Prescott, Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hertz, Bo Nick with Peyton, Bo Nix with Peyton. Then you face the Great Brock Purdy after Jalen Hertz, Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Jared

Gough, Drake May, Jaden Daniel. God, it's just insane. Murderers, row. A nice dig at Brock Purdy, by the way. I saw it. I heard it. Let's go on to the next story, Colin. And that's the Detroit Lions.

They're going to look a little different this season. No Ben Johnson. He's with the Bears now. Detroit brought in their former senior offensive assistant from 2022, John Morton, to replace Ben Johnson. And he doesn't plan on shaking up their winning formula. Some ads maybe I've done before. in the past.

You know, we'll see. It'd be something like that. But I mean, not changing much. I mean, why? I mean, it's working, right? So that would be the smartest thing to do. It's just about, like, techniques and certain things. Man.

So, hardcore NFL fans, remember Johnny Morton, former wide receiver, a good player. So if you just looked at the name John Morton, you're like, oh, they got Johnny Morton, he knows football. And then you see, this is a different. John Morton. I don't know this guy. I'm looking at his history. I'll let you guys do the homework. I don't have any faith whatsoever in the Detroit Lions this season, Colin. That schedule is very difficult. I see a regression. I'm ready to almost say they missed the playoffs. No, boy, slow down. It is hard to miss the playoffs when you have the first or second best

offensive line in the sport. It's hard. That O-line, Philadelphia's O-line, they're going to make them. They've got too many smart people in the room, but I do think when you lose coordinators and you just kind of move people up from inside the building, it's a little too insular for me. I like, I don't think the two best candidates in the world were both in your building. I like, I like reinventing yourself, but so they kind of went safe. And I think some of that is they love their culture and they didn't want to bring anybody in that maybe would tweak the culture. But I also think this. Dan Campbell sold for the first three or four years.

Nobody believes in us. We are not losers. That no longer works. People all know you're good. So Dan Campbell has to tweak his formula. It was, we're the underdogs. No, you're favored overwhelmingly to win your division. Everybody believes in you.

In fact, we were disappointed you lost to Washington. So I think what they were built on, doesn't work anymore. Like, you can't tell the players, nobody believes in us. And it's like, no, we're favored to win 14 games. Everybody believes in us. We're scrappy underdogs. By the way, there's some breakdowns online, Colin, about this lion's schedule.

So last year, I think they had something like 14 games indoors. They play like six outdoor games early in the season. Now, they got lucky that a lot of these are not in cold, terrible weather. They could have had to go to Baltimore in December, Cincinnati, KC. Those are all early, which is a bit of a benefit. But their only cold weather games are maybe Philadelphia in November. And then, of course, the Bears in Week 18. But there's a bit of a break they caught there.

But this is a top five toughest schedule in the league. And that's why I've got them coming out of like nine or ten wins. Yeah, I think they're a 10-11 win team. I think they're going to be fine. I think they've just got too many smart people upstairs. I think golf's too consistent. O-line's too good. Hutchison's back.

They feel like a 12-win team to me. Yeah, you know, not a dig, but it, felt like the brains behind this team last year were Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. And they're both out to do it. I mean, listen, Dan Campbell's a rah-rah guy. You've said that. I'm not saying he's a bad coach. He's a raw-rah guy.

He's not going to scheme you up to victories. He's a CEO. Yeah, exactly. We'll see. Final story calls to the NBA. The Spurs have the number two pick in the draft, and there's a lot of anticipation now. I think one guy's saying 99% that San Antonio is going to draft Ron Harper's kick Dylan Harper out of Rutgers with the number two pick. However, there is a world where the San Antonio Spurs make a

play for Janus, right? And they whiff. There is a guy, I'm just telling you right now, there's a guy out there who they have pursued in the past. His name is Lori Markinen of the Utah Jazz. He's a very good player. Not one of these Super Max guys. He would fit amazingly next to Wembeenjama, stretch four, hits threes. I mean, he hasn't been on a winning team in a while. I would say keep an eye on Larry Markinen going with the number two pick from the Utah to the San Antonio Spurs. That's a name that hasn't really been out there. But you know, I'm a gym rat. I'm a nerd who goes to the gym, and I'll just say there's NBA players working out of my gym frequently.

Lori Markin is the name. A lot of guys respect. And San Antonio has pursued him in the past. Utah has him. And would love to move up to two in the draft from five. Well, I would keep an eye on this. Dylan Harper, great wingspan, can play multiple combo guards. So can Stefan Castle.

Great wingspan. He's a one or a two. So those guys can play together. So can Deerrin Fox. So they have three guards that I think could play together. This kid's really talented. I mean, Lori Marketon is 24 points it feels like anytime he wants it. He's just a score.

He scores the ball really well. I do worry about if your best players are, Dylan Harper, Wemby, and Castle. You are really young. Yeah, you're not going to wear anytime soon. No, no. I mean, so if you have Wemby Marketing. Wembe Marketing and Frontline, that's a playoff team next year in the West.

Well, and Castle. Yeah, I mean, I just, I think Houston's a great example. Like, Amman Thompson works, but a lot of those, Jabari Smith, Jalen Green, you can be too young. Yeah, you think O'KC's young. SGA's not young. SGA's been around the league for a long time. He's not young. So it is Caruso.

You got to have a mix. To me, Houston is too young. Well, you made a great point. The Thunder were super young, so what did they do? They brought in veterans, Caruso, Hartnstein. Those guys are on the floor at the end of the game against Yokic. And the Spurs don't have that. They need to go get Mark in.

San Antonio, make it happen. Jay Mackle the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. Wemby, Marketing, Stefan Castle, De Aaron Fox, that's pretty good. That's pretty good. Now, Utah would have to replace 25 points, but I don't know.

A lot of people don't want to take the call when Danny Aange, when the phone rings and you see Salt Lake City area code, a lot of people are like, I'm not answering. It's Danny Aange. I don't want to get worked. I don't want to, I'm not answering. I'm out for lunch again. But it's four in the afternoon. Late lunch.

Liquid lunch. I'm out. Live in Chicago, it's the hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, is Steve Kavino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Kavino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the IHeart Radio app.

Why should you listen to Kavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world? We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories. in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out.

We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio. Maybe the most interactive show on Planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports Radio on the IHeart Radio app from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search COVID. and Rich wherever you get your podcast and of course on social media.

That's Kavino and Rich. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to our first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on. a call about what we should call it.

Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back.

Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase. that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. So it is interesting. If you look, we have a graphic here,

and I do apologize to the radio audience a little bit here because it's a lot of teams, but the most standalone games, it's really interesting who gets standalone games. Like I would put Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in standalone games like every week. I have no problem. Kansas City, Dallas, and Washington

have the most standalone games. I have no problem with Kansas City and Washington. Dallas, sorry, eight standalone games. I think by like week six, they're going to be two and four. But what's interesting, also, Minnesota has seven standalone games. I think they're going to finish fourth. How did Miami get six standalone games? I don't get that.

I'm looking, where's Buffalo? Okay, Buffalo has four. five stand-alone games. I think Sean Payton and Bo Nix are interesting. Rams do, Niners do Chicago, Chargers. Steelers, five standalone games. That's betting on Aaron Rogers. But, I mean, it's amazing.

I guess it's market size. I love watching Baltimore play. I love watching the Ravens play. Four standalone games. Vikings have seven. That's crazy. That's probably market size. Who else jumps?

tight into the one of the few teams that doesn't have a single standalone game. I think, you know, again, I'm certainly going to watch Cam Ward in September. Now, if the team's awful, but I think Tennessee's going to make the playoffs, Atlanta's got six standalone games. Now, some of that's panics, and they do have some nice skill people, so Atlanta could be a fun watch, but, you know, there's Dallas, eight standalones. Colin, if you look closely, the NFC North is so highly thought of. The Bears have five, the Packers have six,

and the Vikings and Lions have seven apiece. They're just really good teams that put on a good product. And oh, by the way, Minnesota Vikings, just keep an eye on them. If they're in the NFC championship, it would not shock me. That's how good this team is.

The roster and the coach. Hey, you got your boy Caleb Williams out here. I want to go play for Kevin O'Connell. I said that a year ago. It's in the book. I'm just telling you, Vikings would be the arrow up for me. Again, I don't have a problem with Philadelphia,

Detroit, Washington, Kansas City, Green Bay, Harbaugh's captivating. San Francisco is a big brand. I think Chicago is going to be fun. I don't have a problem with most, but boy, they're putting some stock in Minnesota. Miami has six standalone games. Colin, AFC South, Jaguars, 2, Colts, 2, Titans, 0. I mean, these are teams that, I hate to be mean, but nobody cares about those teams. They're terrible.

Bad quarterbacks, bad markets. Think about how lean you have to be, how little the NFL regards you, when the Jets and the Giants combined have fewer standalone games than Minnesota. I mean, think about that. That gives you an exact. I mean, like the Jets and the Giants, they would love to put those new. When Eli Manning was winning Super Bowl to the Giants, it felt like they were on Sunday night football every third week.

And some of its quarterback, to me, it's such a quarterback. Like, I will watch Bo Nix and Sean Payton. Like, that's interesting to me because I love the coach and I really like the quarterback. To me, Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, I'm going to watch that. That's interesting to me. So it's a combo deal. You could also tell the teams with 8, 7, and 6. How many of those are west of the Mississippi, Colin?

I'll wait for you to count them up. Not a lot. Exactly. Nobody cares. West Coast. You know, you cut off half the audience, you know, the wacky start times. So it's loaded up with teams in big markets just the way any sport. It's a huge bet on the NFC North.

Detroit, Minnesota, and Green Bay and Chicago, between those teams, you're talking, you know, 25 stand-alone games. So the NFL made a huge bet, and Fox is going to lean into Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, and Green Bay. I don't have a problem with three of those. I just, Minnesota doesn't work for me. You're a J.J. McCarthy hater. That's what it is. You don't like McCarthy or Brock Purdy? There's a, there's, there are some people in the league who I am connected to.

I am not the only one with J.J. McCarthy doubts. Oh, okay. I am not the, I'll just say this. I am not the only one. All right. Well, you like to be on an island. The only outrageous thing is the layup Brock Purdy got for 17 weeks. Seriously.

He may not even have to do game prep. Just show up on Sunday, park your car, and walk in and listen to Kyle Shanan's play calls. Do I need to look up in B. Ben Johnson was very good. J.J. McCarthy, here's an interesting stat. Since September of 2023. So what is it now? It's May.

It's May of 2025. So September since September of 2023, J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings quarterback has thrown over 30 passes one time. He didn't play last season. Come on. That's it. Well, sharing, thinking. And in that, in that division, that's a track meet division. Those offenses are fueled, creative coaches. You better get ready to throw 38 times, 40 times a game. We are out of time. Thanks to Ben Johnson, head coach the Bears. We're here.

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

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

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

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris.

Gentil win. She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist, and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.