The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - Eric Manginius

Episode Date: December 23, 2022

In this hour of The Herd, former NFL head coach Eric Mangini joins the show to reflect on Jet quarterback Zach Wilson's underwhelming time in New York, Mike McCarthy's handling of the job as the Dallas head coach, a Mike Vrabel-Aaron Rodgers pairing in Nashville, and whether or not San Francisco's Brock Purdy is coming back down to earth.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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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, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back Hour 3 live in L.A. It's the herd wherever you may be in. However, you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio FS1. There's a little bit of a report out there right now that Clip Kingsbury coach of

Arizona would essentially, he's close to just quitting. He's just at Wits End. There are times in our business. Jason used on a blog called The Big Lead, was kind of the first, one of the first really popular ones. There are times when both of us know things and can't go public with them. I can just tell you, Steve Kimes, having some personal battles himself. Cliff Kingsbury wants to quit. The owner resents Kyler Murray. It is a big mess in Arizona. So you don't have any symmetry in the building. And we talk about this all the time in the NFL. Is half the teams that make the playoffs don't the next year. It's hard to win in this league if you don't have a a Holmes and a Herbert and a Burrow and a Josh Allen, even if you do have a Herbert,

if you have a young coach who may be on the wrong side of the ball, it's still hard to win. This league, you know, it really comes down to if you get a Big Ben, you get a Peyton Manning, you get a Brett Farve, you get a Tom Brady, you'll win. Now, you won't win as much if you have an average coach, but you'll generally win. We don't know if Zach Taylor's a great coach. He's certainly good enough to get to a Super Bowl, but it's really, really hard. And I was talking to a GM last night in the NFL and he said, watching Zach Wilson, he said,

it's hard to ever land a great quarterback. It's equally hard to land a home run coach. To do what Kansas City's done as a general manager and an owner almost never happens. Bill Walsh, Montana. I mean, you can count them. It's like 10 ever. Belichick Brady, Andy Reed Mahomes, Walsh, Montana, Chuck Noel, Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Troy Aikman, Walsh, and Steve Young.

Tomlin, Rostisberger. Yes, they got Stoback Landry. It's hard. Chemistry is everything, right? We know that you need the symmetry. By the way, Marv Levy and Jim Kelly, great. I think Marv Levy is one of the most underrated coaches of my lifetime. Never got a Super Bowl.

By the way, Dan Marino, Don Shula. First ballot, unbelievable. Didn't get a Super Bowl. this stuff is hard. You've got to have the symmetry and the chemistry and it doesn't exist in Arizona. You've got to wonder some of these other organizations. We've talked about it this week, Kraft and Belichick. What's going on?

Is there a fracture there? What's going to happen? Like, if you don't have the chemistry, it just doesn't look good for the future. So another ugly performance last night for Zach Wilson of the Jets, lost to the Jags. To me, anyway, it's pretty obvious for everybody. Zach Wilson is not a franchise quarterback. Not. He could be a backup.

I have my doubts. Generally, backups are older, mature guys, very good in the room, teachers, mentors. You know, Colt McCoy's dad was a coach. Colt McCoy can come in and win the occasional game. Good in the room, good with film, good with young quarterbacks. That's not really Zach's thing. He's the second most popular quarterback on the team, and yet he's the starter. The good news is, and there is good news.

The roster is really good, some good young receivers. It was a standalone game. Everybody saw it. Nobody can deny it. And you had a star young quarterback as a comp next to him, playing on the road against the better defense. And he looked really, really, really good like a starting franchise quarterback would. Zach Wilson had seven drives, 78 yards.

A former CFL backup quarterback, Chris Dreveller, had one drive for 83. The backup was noticeably bigger, noticeably stronger, more mobile, more confident, more athletic, and more successful. It's no longer a debate. Go big or go bigger. Just ask yourself. Mike White, 27 years old, has to play Patrick Mahomes, 27 years old. Super Bowl MVP. Does it feel like a fair fight?

Josh Allen, twice a year, Mike White. Is that the answer? Tua, Mike McDaniel, Tyreek Hill, Jalen Waddle versus Mike White. Is that the answer? Or you could draft one. Another rookie quarterback against Bill Belichick, who you know owns rookie quarterbacks and will eventually get a real offensive coordinator.

is that the answer? It's New York. Go big. You know, these teams that try to save money or convince themselves, they didn't get it wrong, you're just, it's like a shovel, you're just, you continue to dig. Look around, look at your division,

Josh Allen, Belichick. The answer isn't another young quarterback. This roster is actually pretty good. It's not like the Giants, a generic roster and a generic stadium. The Jets have an elite corner. corner and they're not paying him anything. Some really nice, good young receivers.

And they're not paying him anything. They're not tied to an ugly quarterback contract. They need a left tackle and a veteran quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo, for the record, played in this system. The coach from San Francisco, the coordinator for the Jets, he knows the system, been banged up a little, but it was an ankle injury. not shoulder, not throwing arm. Derek Carr.

Again, Derek Carr, in utter chaos, in a tough division, willed the Raiders to the playoffs last year. But the good news is the roster's fine. You're not tied to any bad contracts, but Zach Wilson's not it. And there's total clarity today. Total absolute clarity. That's what's great.

You get these games buried in the one o'clock window and somebody sees stats. Nope, we all saw it. cold, windy, just added elements. He looks small. He looks lost. It's okay. About half the guys you take in the first round just do not work.

Don't convince yourself it does. We all saw it. We know what's bad. Here's the head coach after. We haven't seen the last of them. But right now, he just got to focus on finding ways to get better. We've got to find ways to help them. We've got to find ways to protect better.

We've got to find ways to run better. We've got to find better ways to call the game better. We've got to do a lot. It's not just him. It's a collective hole. We've all got to find ways to get better. No, it's mostly him. And that's okay.

It's mostly him. So the bigger game tomorrow is the Cowboys, and they're taking on the Eagles. But the Eagles are now traveling a little beat up, and they're going to use a backup quarterback, Gardner Minchu, who's not terrible. Kind of fun to watch. Good backup.

Rob Ninkovich, former NFL player, was on the other network. ESPN was talking about the pressure is now absolutely, no, not on DAC. The pressure's on Mike McCarthy, he said. And this is what we discussed yesterday. Dak goes 13 and 3 got all the credit. Zieg got suspended for six games. His passer rating plummeted. It wasn't a reality check on DAC.

It was criticism that Zique wasn't mature. Then Jason Garrett's fault. contract negotiation of fault. Now, Jerry Jones sometimes it's his fault. Now it's Mike McCarthy's fault. This is what I talked about yesterday. The articles are already being written if Mike McCarthy does not win. Folks, Mike McCarthy has a Super Bowl and went four and one with Cooper Rush.

Mike McCarthy's fine. He's not Belichick. He's not John Harbaugh. He's not Andy Reid. Nobody's saying he is. He's not Kyle Shanahan or McVeigh. There's five or six guys top. of the food chain, he's not, but he's in the mix with the other 15 guys who have jobs and have

steady employment. What's interesting, though, about DAC is his predecessor, Tony Romo. I remember defending Romo for years. He got crushed, and it's interesting what we do with quarterbacks. Peyton Manning for over a decade, his label was, Peyton Manning, can't win the big game. Before that, I grew up with John Elway, who was crucified for getting blown out in Super Bowls. Not a bad place to get blown out. Aaron Rogers gets a lot of heat for not winning the big game. Josh Allen, now starting to hear it. When are you going to get to the big one?

In Tony Romo, the predecessor to Dak took a lot of heat. If you go look at their regular season numbers and DAC has had on average a significant, significantly better offensive line, not necessarily close. For our radio audience, they're the same quarterback. Dak slightly better. You go to the playoffs, Romo's better. You go to the fourth quarter, which really matters for quarterbacks, and Tony Romo is absolutely better than Dak.

But that's what's interesting. Tony was better in the playoffs. Tony is better in the fourth quarter. Yet Tony Romo got crucified. So you say to yourself, well, I mean, DAC is the underdog story. Fourth round. Tony Romo was undrafted.

Tony Romo didn't get paid for years and years in this league. Tony Romo had bad offensive lines. Tony Romo had Jason Garrett, who took all the heat for DAC. It's not that I don't like Dak. I do. He's a good B-plus quarterback. He's Kurt Cousins with a better brand. But it is remarkable how we always blame the quarterback for years, even great ones,

Elway forever, and Peyton Manning and Aaron Rogers. Matt Stafford, when he came to the Rams, a lot of people are like, he can't win the big game. He won the Super Bowl first year. Tony Romo, small school guy, got clobbered. Dak, it's not about Mike McCarthy this weekend. Got a Super Bowl, four and one with Cooper Rush. Went 13 and 3 with Fav. Got a ring with Aaron Rogers.

Winning record with a backup. Mike McCarthy has led DAC to 100 plus passer rating since they've been together. This is on DAC. At home, Eagles beat up Gardner Minshue. Dach's got to win this game. Can't wait for this weekend. So tomorrow, a lot of games, about half your slate, best game appears to be this one. Sunday, your best game.

I think Miami at home against Green Bay is the most fascinating game. But those early windows, one of the reasons I love the NFL, do you know 92 of the 100 top rated TV shows last year? NFL football games? Isn't that incredible? 92 out of 100s, the most watched thing in England. It's the English Premier League. In Canada, it's hockey. Here it's the NFL.

Those early window games often look like drag. And it always comes down to three or four of them going to over. time last possession. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

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and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Fox Bet Super 6 is spreading the holiday cheer by giving everyone a chance to win $25,000 of Terry Bradshaw's money and the mystery prizes inside his vault. Download the app, enter your picks, opt in to the prize giveaway sweetsteaks for a chance to win.

Packers Dolphins, Colin? You know I'm on the pack. I'm assuming you're sticking with your dolphins. Dolphins had the best loss of the year of Buffalo. Time of possession. Out gained them. Shut down Stefan Giggs. They win by Diggs.

They win by a touchdown. I think Miami now makes a run, makes the playoffs. I think Mike McDaniel deserves coach of the year for all the stuff he's dealt with. Sometimes you lose, but you gain a lot. I thought Miami's loss at Buffalo was uber impressive. Controlled the line of scrimmage, ran for 190 yards. Josh Allen put a cape on.

What are you going to do? He's a Superman. Justin Herbert, Tennessee. What are you going to do? You're facing a five-star guy. Sometimes they just win. Brady won a lot of games. The Patriots are outplayed.

But I thought Miami looked great. Eric Mangini, former Jets coach, Browns coach, Fox Sports analyst. Listen, it's the most important position. The good news is you could get Derek Carr for the right number. you could get Jimmy Garoppolo. I think the roster's too good to come back next year. I just said it earlier.

Mike White, Josh Allen, two times a year. That's not what I want to do. I think you have to own your mistakes, don't you on Zach Wilson? Yeah, I was watching the game last night, and when Zach Wilson was on the sideline, I don't know how you recover from that. And going into the game, it was his second chance. He had done some nice things the game before. he showed some signs of life and you think, okay, maybe he learned from the time that he had to sit down

and there just wasn't anything that you could take away from that. Yeah. Where as an organization, you're saying this is the guy that's going to continue to grow and this is the guy that's going to help us get us to where we want to be. And they're closer to where they want to be with the team they have now than they've been in a long time. Yeah. If they can get a left tackle in the draft and a car or a Garapolo, I absolutely think. this is the kind of team defense. Joe Douglas has proven. He can hit some home runs in the draft. I think they'd be a real team. So you know New England very, very well. I said this yesterday.

Bobby Knight went from national titles to winning games at Texas Tech to not embracing the one and done to it's over. Is when cultures change, if you don't embrace the three-point shot, Greg Popovich didn't, not very relevant. Bobby Knight didn't embrace the one and done. The handling of Jack Jones is so clunky and tone deaf to the sport. I don't know. I could see Kraft talking to Bill and saying, listen, I'll pay you, you know, go to Jupiter and Gulf, Florida. It looks like, I mean, I know it sounds like a hot take, but Robert Kraft is a billionaire for a reason. He's bottom line, Eric.

Yeah, and Mr. Kraft has been willing to take chances that other owners haven't. When he brought Bill in, remember, he traded a first-round graphic for Bill. And here's a guy that had had one really an inconsistent record in Cleveland. And he took a chance that nobody else would have at that time. And he was right. And he is willing to take those chances. Now they've got a long-term relationship. They've shared so many things over time.

I would imagine that the leeway for Bill is significantly longer than most head coaches. And the transition from a Hall of Fame quarterback to that next phase is hard. And we see it everywhere. We see it in New Orleans. We see it in Indianapolis. We see it in Pittsburgh. It's not an easy thing to do. And they're trying with Mack Jones.

There's a lot more with Mack Jones to be encouraged about. And I know it's hard to say that at this point. But based off of what they did last year, I don't think that they're ready to make a a major organizational shift after this season. So Mike McCarthy, I went and delivered the numbers, the raw data to the audience earlier. When he had Aaron Rogers in his prime, he certainly didn't ruin him. Aaron without him, Aaron with him, mostly the same. He took an old Brett Farr, went 13 and 3.

Old Fav with him, old Farr without him, was about the same. Dak Prescott's actually better with Mike McCarthy as a former coach. You know, if he loses this weekend, Dak won't face it. McCarthy will get crushed. Are there things that Mike McCarthy does that you like, that you think he's a little undervalued? What is his strength in your opinion? Yeah, look, Mike had a great situation.

When you go from Brett Farve to Aaron Rogers, that's pretty amazing. And that's the type of transition that we'd love to have. have. And there's a lot of creative elements to his offense. And I think he does a good job of balancing the running game with the passing game. And here's a guy who obviously likes to pass the ball more than he likes to run the ball, but he's got enough perspective and maturity to see where the team is and realize that their strengths in the running game. He gets killed a lot in Dallas because there's so much expectation based off the contracts they paid certain players that I don't think it's a fair evaluation of how he's done as a coach.

There's this assumption when he came in that they were Super Bowl ready, and that's not really where they were. And that's more a function of the perspective of the organization as opposed to his job as a head coach. Yeah, you know, you can argue Zeke is overpaid, Dax a little overpaid, Jalen Smith was paid and they had to get out of it. Demarchus Lawrence, probably a little overpaid. Micah Parsons will absolutely get paid.

That's not to say they don't deserve money, but you're right. When you get the big money, there's a sense of what you are, and a lot of times the money isn't the player. And you and I have talked about it a bunch, Colin, whether it's in free agency or whether it's second contracts. Guys get paid a ton of money based off what the market is, not because they've improved substantially as a player. They're exactly the same player, but as soon as they get this gigantic contract, there's this expectation that they're suddenly going to take some sort of jump. You're paying a guy for who he was and in expecting that level of production. You're not saying he's going to take some amazing jump because you had to overpay for him. It's like housing.

You know, you overpay for a house. It's the same house. You just overpaid for it. Right. So Aaron Rogers in Men's Health talks about ayahuasca's self-love. it was a great journey. And, you know, I kind of roll my eyes. I wouldn't talk about that stuff publicly, but to each his own.

Aaron's kind of an ethereal, you know, he's out there. He puts everything out there. Good for him. But it is interesting. If they go to Miami and lose, they don't make the playoffs. I'm going to throw something at you. You know Mike Frable. I'm going to throw it at you.

Run-centric teams, Cleveland with Chubb, Cowboys with Zeke, Titans with Derek Henry. You're not beating Mahomes with that. You're not beating Burrow with that. You're not, you know what I mean? And I look at Derek Henry, who's got a lot of innings. Last four years, a lot. A lot. And now they got to pay him again.

And my takeaway is, this is when you move off the back. And I think it's time Mike Vrable with Brady knows. He looks at Burrow, Allen, Herbert. Here comes to Sean Watson. Here comes Trevor Lawrence. You know Vrable. I think if Aaron, if it doesn't feel great

at the end of the year in Green Bay, I think he's going to go after him. I really do. And I think Green Bay will take the phone call. Am I nuts? I would imagine that most teams if Aaron Rogers became available would go after him. With the assumption

that you could get him, I don't know how Green Bay could possibly get out of the contract the way that it's structured with the amount of dead money. But let's say they could. if you could get Aaron Rogers in Tennessee, and Mike is the type of guy that if he was ever going to make that type of move,

he would sit down. And he would be very honest with expectations. He would be very honest with who he is, how he runs his program. And if you have that going into it, and there's no false pretense, it's not about recruiting a guy and giving him total control of your organization.

It's this is who we are, this is what we're going to do, this is what our expectation of you is, are you in? And if he was in, yeah, you'd love to have Aaron Rogers. And almost any team would unless you've got one of the elite guys. Yeah, by the way, people... But you've got to get him with that honesty, that honest conversation going into it. Yeah, I want you here in the offseason.

We've got young players. You've got to be in Aaron. By the way, Green Bay can get out of it. If Jordan Love can play, and they know by now, because you pay him nothing for two more years, that dead cap hit of $16 million next year, you're not paying Jordan Love anything. And by the way, you're not paying Watson.

But I think the dead cat, I think the dead hat cap hit, though, is way like more in the $50 million range. I know if he went, there's two years where you pay a lot for it. But remember, Christian Watson now, starter free. Romeo Dobbs, starter free. Jaya Alexander, you're paying.

Boktiari. Aaron, not a lot of big contracts there. There's a lot of good young players you're not paying anything for. And if you get the right picks for Aaron and hit on them, there's three or four more starters. You're not paying anything for. Remember, they let the center go to the charger. So it's not one of those things where you're loaded with eight, like the Rams, where you're kind of backed up on a lot of big contracts.

And look, people are willing to eat way more dead money than they used to be, whether it was Russell Wilson. There's been a few examples where the amount of dead money that teams absorbed to move on from a guy is pretty amazing because it does. Look, it limits your ability to maneuver with the rest of the roster for a year or two. But teams are changing.

It's interesting, though. The Russell Wilson experience is definitely going to make people take a step back, though, with guys that have been elite and think, okay, what am I really, really getting here? Okay, finally, Brock Purdy, there's two games now. We've got a lot of film on him now. Do you expect a little pullback now that people know what he can do

and maybe know what he can't do? Well, I do worry about his decision-making to some degree. His interception to touchdown ratio in college, it wasn't as bad as some, but it wasn't the extreme, you know, high end of touchdowns, low end of picks, and he takes some chances that he's gotten away with here in the first two games. Yeah. I think there's one or two drop picks. So he's benefited from that to some degree.

As long as he understands his role and he doesn't put too much pressure on himself to be the guy. And look, Tom Brady in our first run to the Super Bowl, we had three offensive touchdowns in the playoffs. That's it. Like as long as you understand how good your defense is, how good your running game is, how good your playmakers are, and that I don't need to be the reason that we win, but I definitely can't be the reason that we lose, then I like his chances moving forward. And they're going to do a good job of protecting him. Yep. Christian McCaffrey now. Debo Samuel comes back in a couple of weeks.

That's less of a burden on Brock Purdy. Eric Mangini, happy holidays. Your flight's canceled. It's going to be in New York. You know, you'll have fun. New York's a lot of fun during the halls. Thank you, Colin. Have a great holiday.

Thank you. Yeah, Mike's flight got canceled, so he's going to hang out. New York's gorgeous, by the way. I spent, I spent... Negative six degrees. Well, no, come on now. It's a beautiful... How would your wife handle it if you had to get stuck in a different city on Christmas?

And you were not with the family. Not great. Wouldn't be great. Yeah, I feel for Eric, though. By the way, my brother did get on a flight. They had to change airports. Everything's canceled on the Eve. It's brutal.

Yeah, it's bad. That Arctic blast. No, what are they calling it, a bomb cyclone or something like that? Just sounds formidable. I don't even know what that is. I don't even know what that is. It's so cold. There's like thunder or something.

Thunder, snow? Is that a thing? You know, I don't watch the weather channel. I'm not that old yet. J. Mack with the news. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

All right. We'll start with the NFC East matchup. We talked about it all week. Cowboys, Eagles, great game on Fox. Jalen Hurts out, Gardner Minshu in. Here's how Gardner Minshu is planning on approaching tomorrow's matchup. I'm going to do something I've done my whole life. Play football.

And I'm going to do my part. Just be me and play my game. I'm looking forward to it. He sounds confident. I'm just telling you. This mustache thing is cool. No, no, he's always been Baker Mayfield that he believes in himself more than others do. Taylor Heineke's got that little undersized.

But if you look at Gardner Minchew's history at Washington State and in the NFL, he's had less talent around in the Baker Mayfield and put up almost the exact same numbers. He's a little more mobile than Baker, doesn't have the arm of Baker. But Gardner Minchew, like Baker, we've seen it. Gardner Minchew can have his halves or his moments or his drives. So I think they're pretty competitive. This O-line, D-line combo for the Eagles, if they play all their starters, They'll hang around in this game.

I think Dallas is going to win by about a touchdown, but I think it's competitive. I know we're talking about DAC and Minshu and all this stuff. A couple things on Dallas to look at. So they had injuries at cornerback, and they started Joseph last week. He got cooked by Trevor Lawrence. They benched him this week.

They don't know who they're starting at the other cornerback position. Keep an eye on that. The other one is Layton Van derresh. Not going to play this week. That's a big loss in the linebacking core for Dallas. I think at tight end and running backs out of the backfield, Philly can take some advantage of it. This is a little too X's and O's for a lot of people.

But Philly's also getting one of their best tight ends back. It's very interesting. I can't wait. That's a good game. I can't wait for tomorrow's headlines in 10 minutes. I can't wait. Let's go to a game you picked earlier in the show. The Commanders.

Big uphill battle to get that seven seed in the NFC. A lot to play for. Chase Young back. Best defense in the league week five. Defensive coordinator. Film on Brock Purdy. Debo's still out. This is going to be close.

Yeah. Here's Commander's defense. defensive tackle Jonathan Allen on how the defense will look to slow down Brock Purdy. It's unpredictable. You don't know what he's going to do. I don't feel like he has to do a lot. I don't feel like he has a lot to lose. So he's just going out there and slinging it.

But the coaching staff they have and the players they have, they just always put him in a good position. I think for us, try to make him as uncomfortable as possible. And they do. We've said this before. The Giants have no talent. They have a great coach. Washington's got talent, but they have probably. Probably a backup quarterback and a defensive coach.

So they're not overly creative offensively. Washington has playoff team talent. Absolutely. Everywhere. Back, receiver, D-line. I like Washington. I think Washington's one of those teams physically that can match up with a, there are not many that can match up with a Niners, O-line, D-line.

They can match up with them. So it's a backup quarterback, Heineke, against the third stringer, Brock Purdy. And I just want to put this out there. The Sharps in Vegas have gone against Purdy the last couple games, right? Since that Miami game, Purdy started everybody and their mom took Tom Brady and Tampa. Tom Brady's homecoming. They got slaughtered. Everybody loves, oh, you got to take Seattle.

Homefield advantage, Brock Purdy. Yep. San Francisco won and covered. Be careful. I know you like Heineke and watch his defense and Purdy's had some extra time to prepare. I know Chase Young's back. I'm not fading, my guy, Brock Purdy. He's my new Heineke.

Can I make him my new Taylor Heineke? There you go. Final story, Colin. This is a little ominous, which you touched on earlier. Cardinals, really rough season, eliminated from playoff contention, and there's a recent report today, I think like two hours ago, indicating Cliff Kingsbury is unhappy and that things as they currently stand are not sustainable. Kingsbury's relationships with the owner, Bidwell, the GM Kime, and Kyler-Marie.

All those three have soured. We talked about chemistry. All those relationships souring. The report indicated Cliff could resign because he's tired of the BS in Arizona. It's really bad right now, really bad. So Kingsbury doesn't feel supported because he's got to work with Kyler. The Kyler thing is maybe not as bad as people think it's not ideal. Kime's going through a personal battle and personal issues.

The owner's tired of all of it. Cliff would like more support from the owner. It's not great. It's bad. Yeah. Who's your owner going to support? He cowered when Kyla Murray was like, take this thing out of my contract. Oh, sorry, sorry, Kyler.

You know, like, who's running the show there? Bottom line, though, you got to, at some point, Kyler Murray, the quarterback can make everything right. Well, here's my thing. Play and play well, it makes everything right in this league. Let's say Kingsbury says, all right, I'm out of here. I'm stepping aside, blah, blah, blah. Is this an attractive job?

No. Second thing is Kingsbury is going to be a great potential hire for Oklahoma. if Venables in year two struggles, go higher Cliff Kingsburg. Yeah, Venable struggles. He may not. You think he wants to be a head coach again or maybe an OC is just? No, no, no. He'll want to be a head coach.

He's a slam dunk OC somewhere. He could just take care of the offense. Here's what's going to happen. So he's going to go be the coach at Oklahoma in Venable struggles. And then in five years, Lincoln Riley coaches the Cowboys, and Cliff Kingsbury ditches Oklahoma again for USC. Five years. Okay, hold on.

Let's back. That's so much to take it. This is a tough one. What is a better job if Kingsbury steps down? Arizona Cardinals or the Houston Texans? Think it over. Don't make an irrational choice here. Arizona Cardinals. It's a better job. I don't know about that. No Kylo Murray for the first at least 12 weeks. Get in there, make it work.

I'm not saying it's easy, but at least I got my guy. The quarterback's higher paid than you are. He controls the owner. I don't care about that. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Bet the losing team go with the winner, switch to consumer cellular.

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on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget, we'll be here Monday. The day after Christmas, we'll be breaking down Cowboys, Eagles, Packers Dolphin, and all the big games. The herd Monday at noon Eastern right here on FS1.

Be back. Week 16 is official. He's a former newspaper guy. He was writing headlines long before we met. We call the segment tomorrow's headlines today. It's his NFL predictions. So we begin with this. Miami Dolphins back home.

Tough loss. Tomorrow's headlines. Today, Packers, Dolphins, what say you? Great way to spend your Christmas Day watching Dolphins. The headline will be Hippie Kaya! Dolphins die hard as Aaron plays White Night. Die Hard is a Christmas movie, obviously, Colin.

Listen, this is about the Dolphins defense. I don't know why you haven't brought this up. Brock Party, Brock Purdy carved them up, up and down the field. Justin Herbert got whatever he wanted. Josh Allen, anytime he needed yardage, you got it. I don't know how this Miami defense is going to stop Aaron Rogers, who is still a very good quarterback and has his healthiest wide receiver core of the season. And I think a high-scoring game, I trust Aaron Rogers more than I do Tua.

And I think this is lost number four in a row for Miami. Wow. And Cowherds doing the backwards hat thing on Monday. Okay, this next one's pretty ugly. Tomorrow's headlines today, Baker and the Rams and the Broncos. Oh, tough watch. I know there's a very tough watch. Denver games late in the season have been.

I think there's a big edge here. The headline will be L.A. Fala-la-la-la-la-la lost to Denver. Denver. I feel bad for Baker Mayfield and the Rams. Aaron Donald, they just announced done for the season, shutting him down. You look at this roster. They basically had two drives.

That's it against the Raiders. Remember late in the game? Last week against the Packers, they had one drive garbage time when it was 24-6. Denver is playing well. They're trending strongly at the end of the season. You know, look good coming back from 27-0 against the Chiefs. They did almost beat the Ravens and last week got the win over the Cardinals. And you're like, Jason, those teams kind of stink other than the...

and Chiefs. Well, the Rams stink, Colin. This is not a good team. Ram season is over. They're looking at next year. I like Denver and Russ to get a nice win. Their second trip to Sofi. They almost beat the Chargers. Overtime game was good. I like Denver here. Yeah. If they can fix their own line and get the right coach, you and I both believe this. All is not lost. Ross is not as bad as he's been this year. He's just not. Tomorrow's headlines today. Two sinking ships, Bucks, Brady, and Cardinals. Yeah. Listen, Arizona, as we've used, detailed is a badly sinking ship, taking on water. The headline will be, we wished you a Murray Christmas,

but you got Trace McSorily, and Tampa Bay is going to, listen, Tampa Bay is probably going to destroy these guys. Arizona, like, truly a mess. And you just look at the injury report for Tampa, and you're like, are these guys healthy, or are they veterans who have been through some postseason wars? We know we're winning the division. We've got to lock this down. I think Brady gets the victory. Arizona, really, internally, just a dumpster fire. And you feel a little bad for Kingsbury. This report today that Kingsbury is frustrated, can't get the owner on its side, may just walk away. So now you've got players like, geez, what's going on here? Be careful. Arizona is in trouble this season. All right. Tomorrow's headlines today. This one's interesting.

The Bengals are red hot, little banged up. Patriots recently humiliated. And the wind is going to be 20, 25 miles an hour. So, you know, you know, I know, you get northeast. wind. You saw it last night. It's supposed to be worse this weekend. Bengals Patriots, what do you have? Belichick loves the slop. Remember the wind, all that stuff? He's ready for it. The headline will be. Bengal, Bengal, Bengal, Bengal. I made it out of day. A little Christmas theme going here. Listen, Bengals have been a covering machine. Your audience is all over me on social media. You've got to pick the Bengals this week. You got to pick up. I'm on them. And this might be the game where they go down, Colin. The line has gone from three and a half to three. I just, I don't think the Patriots are good football.

team right now. Fundamentally, what do they do well? Tell me, they don't throw the football well. The running back game is okay, but that was the Raiders last week, and they were down 17-3 at halftime. If not for a strong second half, they get blown out by Raiders team. They say Cincinnati team, you look at Buffalo

shaky defensively, you look at Kansas City, a little shaky, Cincinnati might be the best team. And boy, if they win this game and the Ravens happen to slip up, no Lamar Jackson, I think Cincinnati could win the division. They have an outside shot at the number one seed. Very outside shot.

But I trust Joe Burrow, your guy, I think the Bengals get it done on the road. Yeah, it is interesting. If you look at the teams with a chance to get the number one seed, Jalen Hertz playing like an MVP. Burrow could be an MVP. Mahomes will be the MVP. Probably Josh Allen has MVP talent. Remember, Bengals bills, I believe, next week. Yes, that's also a little bit of a look-ahead spot for Cincinnati, potentially. Yes, that's a good point, unfortunately. Doesn't help my cause.

All right. Tomorrow's headlines today. This one's really under the radar. Kansas City's looked a lot more vulnerable on the defensive end. Seahawks Chiefs. What do you have? Seahawks have lost four of five. They are fading fast.

The headline will be Christmas Carol. Got run over by a Reed dear. Andy Reed. This feels like a smash spot to me. Tyler Lockett, that injury is really bad for Seattle. Possession guy, you line him up. side in the slot anywhere. He's really your third down go-to. I love Tyler

Lockett, and he's out. So, you know, my hair's feeling good. If Seattle loses this, I don't have to shave. Oh, that's right. Unlike me to shave, obviously the Jets next week. Wow, this is a big one for you. Yeah, so Seattle at 500 right now, they are big underdogs. Kansas City has not covered, not played exceptionally well

defensively. Now, Patrick Mahomes has probably seen some of this MVP chatter. I know he doesn't care about the awards. He knows what's going on. If he has another lights out performance like he did against the Texans. And who doesn't carve up Seattle badly? There's a team, Sam Darnold, went up and down the field against them two weeks ago in Seattle. I don't think much of the Seahawks defense. I think Indy Reed and Patrick Wilhams get to win. Kansas City, I just, I keep going back and forth. Are they the team to be in the AFC? I think so. Listen, salary caps, I was looking at

something the other day with baseball. So Steve Cohen owns the Mets. He's one of the richest owners, if not the richest owners. So when Steve Cohen bought the Mets, he, Mets, you know, owners said, we'll let you into the club, but don't, don't embarrass us. Steve Cohen's like, yeah. The Mets now will have a bigger payroll than the bottom six payrolls in baseball combined. Wow. So salary caps are different in football. Everybody's got holes.

You can buy your way out of holes in baseball. If you have an owner that's willing to pay, you know, he's going to pay like $500 million between roster and tax. So the reality is, Buffalo. O lines of weakness. Kansas City, defense, back end. They left that cornerback go to San Francisco. Yeah, he's been good.

He's been a pro-bow level player. So the Chiefs back end worries you. Quarterbacks pass a rating close to 100. Bill's offensive line. They bail on the run. Worries you. The team in the league that doesn't worry me is Cincinnati. They do everything well.

They're good situationally. They're good after the half. schematic changes, great at quarterback weapons, have a pass rush when they're healthy. So I put Cincinnati number one this week. You can't be a perfect. Last year, Cincinnati got to the Super Bowl. Bad Interior Online, weak linebackers. Rams got to the Super Bowl, pretty average at safety and linebackers.

You can't be a perfect team. Cincinnati is the least flawed team. Now, Philadelphia similarly is, my question with them is, do we really know about Nick Seriani in the playoffs? Can he go and beat, you know, back to back to back weeks, a, you know, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McCarthy's experienced. There's some roadblocks for them, I wonder about it. You're on to something with Philly because this Jalen Hertz injury kind of muddies it, right? They're going to win the division.

We get that. They're going to sit there guys the final week of the regular season. And then they're going to have the buy, Colin. So you could have Jailen Hertz playing maybe one game in like a four-week stretch heading into that second round match. It's very interesting. buys in football, the Titans and Packers off a buy played lousy football. And the Titans are really well coached. And the Packers are certainly competently coached.

Like if you're Cincinnati, you're rolling. You don't want to buy right now. You just want to keep playing and keep rolling teams. The other team to watch, I think, AFC, L.A. Chargers. Just keep an eye on them. Getting healthier, right? Derwin James, Bose's back. the center, interesting.

The other thing to look at this week, final note on handicapping, some of the teams that had buys early in the season now have been playing football for like nine weeks straight. That is very taxing. If you had that late buy or mid-season buy, you'll see teams getting a lot healthier now. Just keep an eye on those teams that had the early buy. They're just worn down at this point late in the season.

Tough economy. Cost of living is skyrocketing. Stock markets chaotic. Protect your financial future. call Legacy Precious Metals today at 866-674 Herd, or download their comprehensive gold guide at buylegacygold.com. Thank you so much for watching. Be safe, happy travels, enjoy your family, lots of football tomorrow and Sunday. We'll see you back on Monday.

It's in L.A., The Herd. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guide, 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, S&L'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. 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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan,

so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever,

you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.