The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Jerry vs. Zeke, Texans-Seahawks Trade, Aaron Rodgers and The Herd Hierarchy

Episode Date: September 3, 2019

Colin details the PR battle between Jerry Jones and Ezekiel Elliott, his thoughts on the Houston Texans-Seattle Seahawks trade, Aaron Rodgers getting his way, and his Herd Hierarchy. Guests include Doug Gottlieb, Reggie Bush, Solomon Wilcots, and Hue Jackson.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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.

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Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. 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 herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Tuesday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Let me take this extra mic off. I've never done that before. That's what's called.

Joyce Taylor, Artis, Mike. Well, you know what? We're back from holiday. We're just trying to get back in the mode. Just trying to figure out how to do this radio TV simulcast thing. Hope you had a great weekend. Boy, it was steamy in Los Angeles this weekend. Yeah.

It's hot. Do you stay in town? I did not. I was in Kansas City with Earl. Oh, you're kidding. Where it was also very steamy. It was hot. You've been on your tour this summer.

The world's hottest places. I think it's over now. I think we're in town for a little while. All right. Great. All right, it's good to have you know to Tuesday. I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. I've always felt that the Zeke, the Jerry battle here, is a, it's a PR game.

And Jerry's very good at the PR game. He's not the best owner in terms of Super Bowls and wins. He's very good in brand building and getting his message out. And I've always felt that he took it personally when Zeke didn't show up to practice camp and was in Kabul. The optics were bad. I think Jerry was ticked off. Jerry went to the well for this guy, went after Roger Goodell for this guy, and you pay him off by going to Cabo and bailing on camp. So Jerry has made a point of coming over and over and over and sending messages.

He sent another one yesterday. So he signed an offensive lineman whose contract wasn't up to a new deal. The message is, Zeke. We got money here, but it's shrinking and offensive line. And then he signed Jalen Smith 10 days ago. Money early, by the way. Both contracts did not have to be signed. Both contracts did not have to be extended.

And Jerry's like, oh, shrinkin, shrink, shrink. It's getting tiny. It's getting tiny. Now, Shannon Sharp this morning on Undisputed, it looks like Zeke, seeing all these new deals, is at least making a move to this country. I received some information that Zeke and his team are on their way back to Dallas.

Now, I don't know if they've already landed, but I was told they're heading back. I believe this is an effort of good faith. So, Jerry, you said this is a marathon. Let's not kill this deal 100 miles from the finish lines, that's basically what I'm saying. And I believe Zeke wants to show Jerry. Jerry, I'm back.

Now, Jerry has now signed two contracts, extensions he did not have to sign. And both contracts are for players. who have sort of over-delivered. Jalen Smith got hurt, came back pro-bowler, and Collins, the offensive lineman, he got involved in a real ugly situation in college. He dropped out of the draft. Cowboys rolled the dice on him, and he is over-delivered for them. So Jerry, again, is signing guys who over-delivered, the contracts early. He does not have to. The messaging to Zeke is, and Jerry was live on Dallas radio this morning. Once again, he goes

back to his new favorite phrase. There's no question. The pie is getting smaller to the extent that we look at how much we're allocating to each and every player, each and every position. It creates boundaries that you can go in other positions, and it should do that. That's called planning. And that's what we're doing. And so I can't give you a straight answer there other than this takes a nice chunk out

of the pie. Jerry, I'm surprised he hasn't talked. talked about Boston cream pie, apple pie. He's talked about pies for the last month. The truth is that the Collins deal on the offensive line actually cleared up more space. It actually cleared up money for Dallas. But Jerry, it's not about actual details here. It's about a message.

Be a good guy. I'll support you. After your mistakes, I support players. Don't make me look bad. Don't go to Kabul. Don't try to win this. Jerry's got Zeke. Back in Dallas, the optics are good.

It will get done. But Jerry's been very smart on this. Is that when you have a star player and you're not paying him, the locker room can grumble. But Jerry has paid two guys early. Why? Because he wants to keep the locker room solid for the season. Guys in the locker room are congratulating Jalen Smith, Lyle Collins.

Way to go. So Jerry doesn't look stingy. Jerry's not anti-player. We take care of our people if our people take care of us. This is not just about Zeke. This is about Jerry sending a message

to cowboy players. Good dudes, show up to camp, I'll take care of you. By the way, memo to all you other running backs in this league. If Zeke struggling getting paid, good luck. Because Melvin Gordon, chargers are like, no thanks. Receivers getting paid, quarterback's getting paid,

DeLylin getting paid, edge rushers are getting paid, Quarterbacks getting paid. Running backs ain't getting paid. Memo to the rest of the running backs. You can fire your agent. The industry's changed. All right, let me shift to this. There was a big trade over the weekend. Jadavian Clownie went to Seattle. And Houston is paying half his contract. And then Houston got a couple of, you know, so-so picks. Everybody's like, oh, Seattle stole it, dominated. And then they made another deal in Houston. They went and got Laramie Tons. a very good ascending talent left tackle top 10 league not top five yet but he's getting there and they gave up more picks and everybody's like ah i lost that trade houston's lost they don't know what

they're doing crazy houston time out you know what i you know what i find with fans and media fans in the media are obsessed with who won the trade you know what uncle collins obsessed with who wins the games. Houston, today's a better football team. Houston's offensive line is the weakness, the albatross of the franchise. They just got an ascending top 10 left tackle, not top five yet, but he's an ascending player with another decade to play to protect their asset. Seattle, by the way, also won the trade.

Not because of draft picks. Because once they gave Frank Clark up to Kansas City, they need a pass rush. and they went and got a Pro Bowl past rusher. Seattle, today is better. Houston today is better. Draft picks. Pete Carroll's a great talent evaluator. He can't get first-round draft picks right.

He's had five in Seattle. One has been good, Earl Thomas. A couple have been whiffs. By the way, the Miami Dolphins have 13 draft picks today. Would you rather have that or Philadelphia's roster? New England's traded three picks in the last week. Draft picks have never been more fluid in my life. The Seattle Seahawks had four draft picks.

Then Russell Wilson pretty much demanded Payme. They did. And within two hours, Seattle had 11 draft picks. People are giving those things away. You're telling me about draft picks. Do you know the Super Bowl favorite? The New England Patriots. Joy, do you know the oldest team in the NFL this morning?

Yeah, it's the Patriots? Yeah. And by the way, my second favorite team to win the Super Bowl is the Eagles. Do you know the second oldest team in the NFL this morning, Joy? Is it the Philadelphia Eagles? It is. You want 22-year-olds. I want to win today, and I want 28-year-olds.

Draft picks have never moved more and more often in my life than now. A couple years ago, Cleveland had two first-round picks. They drafted Johnny Mansell, Tirefire, Justin Gilbert, Whiff, 0 for 2. Draft picks matter if you can land the right guy. And even in the first round, about 30% of the guys just can't play or don't play up to the level you think. the league now is compensatory picks, trade draft picks. You know, when you get a rookie quarterback on a contract like the Houston Texans have,

Jared Gough Rams or Deshawn Watson for the Texans, those windows are tight. And Houston's like, we're going for it. We got two years here, maybe one and a half with Deshaun Watson's contract. We are going for it. And ask yourself this morning, name another NFL team, because I don't think the Patriots can say this. Name another NFL team in their division that this morning can say we have the best quarterback in our division, Deshaun Watson. We have the best defensive lineman in our division, JJ Watt. We have now the best left tackle in our division, debatable, but one or two, Laramette Tunzel.

And we have the best wide receiver, D'Andre Hopkins. So I got the best receiver, quarterback, left tackle, and defensive lineman in my division. I don't think the Patriots can say that. I don't think the Philadelphia Eagles can say that. I don't think the L.A. Rams can say that. I don't think the New Orleans Saints can say that. The windows are closing for Houston. They got a rookie contract on a quarterback.

Two years, they've got to pay to Sean Watson. So they're like, why get him hurt? Why waste time? Let's go for it. You can accumulate draft picks. God, New England gives him away. Got him back. Gives him away.

Got him back. Seattle got seven. Virtually overnight after the Russell Wilson deal, forced them to get younger fast. So, you know, I just don't, I don't buy this. You know, Houston got buried on the trade. Philadelphia, New England, oldest team in the league. Those are your two old teams in the league.

Look at who's winning the playoffs. It's the old teams. It's the Drew Brees. You know, Aaron Donald's not a kid. You know, Robert Woods, go look at Andre Whitworth, Aaron Donald. Go look at the Rams. Golf's the kid. Not a lot of kids on the roster.

It's a lot of guys. Akeb Talib. It's guys who have been around this league. forever. That's who I'll take. So I thought Houston won the trade. I thought Seattle won the trade. People are obsessed by who won the trade. I'm obsessed by winning games. And Houston, to me, this morning is going to win their division. And I think win it going away. I really do. Like New England, Houston. I feel strongest about those teams winning their division and winning it with two to three games left minimum to go in the season. All right, good to have you in.

All sorts of stuff. I could be crazy on a couple of things here. At the top of next hour, I'm going to do for the first time this year, the herd hierarchy. So it's not Monday, so we don't do Colin Wright wrong. It's Tuesday. So what I do, starting this Tuesday, starting today, for the remainder, actually, of this year. So four months, September, October, November, December, into January. I do a herd hierarchy.

So I'll tell you, after all the free agency, all the draft, all the camps, all the preseason, NFL season starts Thursday. Two nights from now, Green Bay is at Chicago. How close are we? And how great of a game is that? If you had to pick a game on the schedule, you really, really wanted to get one game to watch. Thursday night's a pretty good one.

Green Bay, Aaron Rogers, Matt LaFleur at Chicago, and that's coming up. Also, another report out of Green Bay regarding Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rogers. It looks like Aaron Rogers won the battle with Matt LaFleur, and we'll describe that. 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.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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

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Search Learn the Heart Radio app. hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American Soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tad Ramos.

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on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. So Aaron Rogers, a story out of the Milwaukee Journal. Good to have you back. Aaron won the Matt LaFleur, Aaron Rogers Tugovore for audibles. Aaron Rogers won. He'll got to call the audibles he wants. That's what Matt LaFleur, first year head coach in the NFL who spent one year in Tennessee and doesn't have much of a resume.

By the way, he left the Rams. Rams were fine without him. He went to Tennessee for a year. Their offense got worse. Now he's the coach of Green Bay. And Aaron Rogers won the audible battle, which I don't think was much of a battle, it just went public early, and Aaron was a little disgruntled about it when it came out. Here's the reality is.

Matt Lefleur's resume, he's not going to beat Aaron Rogers. But let me defend Aaron Rogers on this. Okay, there's a lot of different varieties of quarterbacks. You have Aaron Rogers and Big Ben are Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and they run around and ad lib more than I like, but they do it. And then Drew Brees and Tom Brady don't run around at all, and they're going to be Hall of Fame quarterbacks, too, and they pretty much stay within the play. and Russell Wilson's going to be a Hall of Fame quarterback and he runs around a lot. And Philip Rivers could not outrun my chair

and he is going to get Hall of Fame votes. There's a lot of different ways to do this. And you're not going to convince a guy who's 35 years old has a Super Bowl and he's rich to make massive alterations. Here's a reality with men. I'll speak for men. I will not speak for anybody else. Once a guy is a professional athlete at 35,

you can tweak things. He's not changing. he's rich he's not changing 35 year old pro athlete is similar to a 55 year old attorney broadcaster actor musician who's successful like my style's my style i'm not making big alterations my style my style i'm 55 i'm 55 erin's 35's 35 but in the average successful person's life that's 55 errand's not changing anything now you can tweak stuff but when brett far was in green bay he's like yeah I'm not changing anything. Aaron's willing to make slight tweaks. But I'm not so sure if you look at Aaron Rogers. Again, Daniel Day Lewis at this point, you can't go to Daniel Day Lewis and go, okay, from now on,

be funnier. Al Pacino only comedies. These guys have a style. There's a lot of different styles for actors, musicians, quarterbacks. As long as you're successful win games and have a ring, you're not going to get Aaron to move much of what he likes to Andy Reid was on our show last week and said, when you get somebody that's really talented at quarterback, be careful about radical changes like Patrick Mahomes. Don't mess them up, Colin. Let his personality show. You start messing with that part of his game and you've got a problem.

And so I learned that with Brett and Donovan and Michael Vick. They all put their own stamp on it and their own personality shows through the offense. And you go different places with the offense. One of the great things is you have flexibility within the offense to do different things. And man, you play to their strength and you cut them loose and let them go. Yes, Aaron, to me, some of his leadership components I don't love, he ad-libs a little too much for me, as does Big Ben. You're not going to make a radical change to a 35-year-old pro-athlet.

That's like a 55-year-old successful attorney. You're not going to change him. You can tweak things, but he is what he is. Take his strengths. Those are the assets. try to cover his weaknesses and liabilities, but people don't make successful people later in their careers as the window closes, very rarely are going to make massive changes.

Why would they? It's hard enough to be successful. But if you've been successful enough to get rich and win rings, you're not moving off that for a guy whose resumes like this thin and errands is like that thick. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line.

news. Well, we are still waiting on Zeke's news, but we have a pretty clear picture of what's going on with Melvin Gordon. He does not plan to report to the Chargers for week one. They have confirmed they will not continue contract talks with Gordon until after the 2019 season and are allowing him to seek a trade. Head coach Anthony Lynn is ready to get on with the regular season, though, and focus on football. My concern right now is all Indianapolis right now. We talked about that for a long time, and now I'm just ready to move on. playing games? Well, he won't play on his fifth year option worth 5.6 million. He was a pro bowler in 2018, 885 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, and 490 receiving yards with four receiving touchdowns.

So they're going to go with Austin Echler and Justin Jackson as they're running back tandem for the L.A. Chargers. I don't love this. I don't think there's a massive window open for the Chargers to be Super Bowl bounds. And this is one of the years where they have all the right pieces, so I'd like to see them have their top running back out there, but we know what the running back market is. They seem to be stuck somewhere between the team offering 10 million and him asking for around 13 million, which is what the, around what Levyon is making. Todd Gurley is in the $14 million range, and neither side seems to be budging. So he will likely get traded because if he sits out this year like Leveon Bell did, he won't be eligible as a free agent.

I talked to their GM this weekend, Tom Telesco, and he said we love him, but we're not going to go into the season talking about this every week. Like our division's great. We're not, and by the way, it should be noted, this thing has been talked about between both sides for months. This is not like, you know, Melvin didn't spring it on these guys.

No, no, no, this has been going on for a while. Yeah, and the chargers are just like, here's what we're willing to do, and they kept calling, and I'm not going to divulge everything Tom and I talked about, but one of the things was, it's been going on for several months. We've kept in great communication, but we're not, we told them early. We're not going to talk

about it during the season. We're not going to have this distract us. Our division's too good. There's too many tough teams on their schedule. So I think Melvin's making a mistake. I hate to see pro athletes leave millions of dollars on the table. I hate it. I just, I don't like it at all. Well, unfortunately, the running back market is what it is. So I don't know what team is going to make up for the difference that he's looking for, who really needs a running back like that at this point. But for the Chargers, it's a gamble for them too. I mean, anytime that you lose a top talent like that going into the season. It's not a great situation. So I know

everyone's trying to make the money fit, but I don't know. I don't know how this is all going to go with everyone gambling with their running backs. I mean, it can talk all the trash you want. Last year, Pittsburgh gambled, and they did not make the playoffs. So you can say it was for a bunch of different factors, but Levi-on-Bel wasn't there. So

those are facts. Like, that's what we have to operate with. So I know everyone's saying that the running back market is dead, and it is what it is. But I guess time will tell if everyone's right when it comes to that. So the Dolphins traded left tackle, Laramie Tunsell and wide receiver Kenny Stills with the Texans. They got two first round picks and one second round pick in returns, sparking even more rumors that the dolphins are tanking this year. But head coach Brian

Flores insisted he would never want the dolphins to lose on purpose. This game means a lot to me, so I wouldn't disrespect the game with that. So that's again, no, we're not. We're going to try to win every game. To be clear, I never believe that players are trying to tan. Players are not going out there purposely trying to lose games. That helps them in no way whatsoever because every time you step on the field, you are essentially rehearsing. You're putting out tape for a possible future employer because you want other teams to pay attention to how you're playing. So no player is going to go out there like, I'm going to lose for the organization so they can get a top quarterback. That makes no sense.

But bosses do things that weren't, you know, I mean, employees are not always privy to the upstairs conversation. So, organizationally, you can move all sorts of chairs and help yourself. I mean, listen, owners, GMs and coaches are generally, I won't even include coaches because most outside of Belichick get run. But, I mean, organizationally, they got 13 draft picks. They're going to get really young. They don't have the quarterback, in my opinion, yet they truly want. I don't know if they're loved with Josh Rosen. So I saw a funny thing on the Internet yesterday.

They had the Dolphins logo with a tank in the middle of it. Their new helmet has a tank on it. I mean, look, it's what people have been talking about before the season started. They're going to tank for Tua, which, to be honest with you, the way that college football looked this weekend, I don't necessarily know that Tua is the pick that you want. Like, there are some other options out there as well, which we'll talk about in a second. But I don't care about draft picks. I don't care about draft picks.

I don't understand this hoarding of the draft. Let's got all the drafts we can get. You have 13 draft picks. Who cares? You know how many busts there are in the draft? I understand being able to move up to get the quarterback that you want. But sometimes you just need to make an aggressive trade. It doesn't mean that you tank the season.

Once I get my quarterback, I'm much more willing to move stuff. If I have a quarterback in a line that I trust offensively, I'm willing to move stuff and roll the dice on picks. I just got to be honest with you, I am not optimistic about what all those picks are going to turn into, and I don't really have a reason to as someone that's watched the dolphins for as long as I have. That and poor Josh Rosen.

I mean. It's a bummer. It stinks. I know him. He's a good kid. I know his mom. He's gotten back-to-back tire fires. Nothing you can do.

There's just no way around it. There's no possible way to judge what he actually is as a quarterback based up these two situations. Okay, so, I mean, just think about this. And I'm not picking on Baker Mayfield, but Baker Mayfield's second year. He's got Jarvis Landry, David and Joku, Nick Chubb, O'Dell Beckham, one of the top five, eight centers in the NFL, and an offensive-minded coach. Josh Rosen's in a rebuild mode for the second time in two years. And just lost his top receiver and the left tackle.

I mean, it's, I feel bad for it. It's a disaster. How can you not? Finally, Jalen Hertz made his Oklahoma debut against Houston on Sunday. He had quite a night, 5008 total yards, six touchdowns in the Sooner's 49-31 win. He had more yards in his first game with Oklahoma than Kyler Murray had in any game last season. Kyler peaked with 478 total yards against West Virginia. And Hertz also shattered Baker-Mayfield's record of 396 total yards in a sooner debut.

So third straight transfer quarterback, third straight that goes to Oklahoma and is significantly better than he was in the previous place. You know, it's funny, Joy, generally speaking, Joy, and we would know this. NFL coaches are better than college coaches. Generally, I mean, Savin's obviously great. Right. So generally, a college player goes to the pros and gets way better coaching in the NFL, except Oklahoma quarterbacks. Like, you're going to tell me Freddie Kitchens, who was a running back? tight ends coach, more than he's been to quarterback coach, is better than Lincoln Riley.

I mean, he's got the sauce. Like, there's something going on there. We have enough evidence to show. Like, if you're a quarterback at top recruiting out there, you need to go to Oklahoma. By the way, you watch Jalen Hurd at Alabama. He was a liability throwing the football. Like you were like, oh, don't throw. Just run the football.

Eight months later, that's what I get. Like Lincoln Riley now, folks, I've said this before. Nick Saban's a great defensive coach, but he's brilliant with cornerbacks. Nick Saban's gotten a lot of cornerbacks in the NFL drafted high and they can't play. Jeff Tedford got a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL drafted high and they didn't pan out. This is not a knock on Baker or Kyler Murray, but I don't think you go from Lincoln, Riley, at Oklahoma. I don't think you get that good of coaching at the NFL level offensively because Jalen Hurts two years ago. When he threw the ball, you were like, no, stop!

Stop. He looked incredible. He did. And it's not, no one's overreacting to the situation, right? Like, it's college football and we have enough evidence of what Lincoln Riley's been able to do. I will say there's obviously some other factors in the NFL you're going against NFL talent as opposed to college talent. So maybe it's not necessarily that the coaching or something has taken that dramatic of a step down as much as the talent that you're going against has taken a step up and the speed is taken a step up. But, man, what a way to start off your season? He is a wizard. I mean, Lincoln Riley is the Sean McVeigh. of that sport.

Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. So, you know, there was a, people were talking about it this weekend is, you know, Dak Prescott is going to eventually

sign like a $100 million contract, right? But he's still not making any money. So Dak Prescott of the Cowboys, you know, he's still on his rookie contract, not making a ton of money. And a lot of these rookie quarterbacks are not making a ton of money right now. Jared Goff's not making a ton of money,

although he was a first rounder. Dack was a fourth rounder. So the question is, how long does DAC play take a chance, risk physically? He's not making any money. I mean, Zeke's made his money. Jared Goffs made some money. So Nick Wright was on First Things First this morning and brought up this point. I think prior to the week one game against the Giants, Dant gets done as well.

Both gets on this week. I do. I think it would be very, very risky, whatever they're offering, Dak Prescott for him to play a football game on a $2 million salary when he has probably $75 million guaranteed staring him in the face. You know, I thought about this this morning. I don't remember a year. I don't remember an offseason.

I don't remember an NFL team that has spent more money, more time talking about money than the Dallas Cowboys. the Steelers aren't talking about money, the Chiefs aren't, the Patriots aren't, the Rams aren't, Philadelphia's not, the Houston Texans aren't. That's been the entire discussion of Dallas's off-season. I want mine, I want mine, I want mine, for the record, none of these contracts are up. Zeeks is up in two years, Dax up in a year, Jalen Smith wasn't up, Lyle Collins wasn't up. I'm for guys getting paid. But the whole off-season, the whole off-season is money. That's all they talked about.

Listen, again, this is what drove Jimmy Johnson crazy about Jerry Jones. Jerry's the only NFL owner I'm aware of that has a Monday radio show. I think Jerry likes all this stuff being talked about because in today's environment, it's social media. Jerry likes his former players to be on television. It elevates his brand. I am not disputing that. I mean, I've led with the Cowboys 15 in the last 25 days.

but this is what drives the Bill Parcells and the Jimmy Johnson's crazy. Do you have to make your football public? Keep secrets. I mean, Jerry's the most verbal owner in the NFL. Is there a number two? I mean, Jim Ursay goes on Twitter. Bob Kraft once a year, we'll see him on TV.

I think this, I look at all the best teams in the NFL, and they just take care of their business quietly. We all woke up one morning, and the Philadelphia Eagles released a salary to Carson Wentz. Nobody knew it was coming. All Dallas has talked about for the last three months is money. And again, it's not about guys getting paid. Does every one of these contracts have to be celebrated press conference? Did you watch the Jerry Jones press conference with Jalen Smith?

He wouldn't let him talk. Jerry just likes to be front and sent. And I think Jerry's brand, you can't deny, as a businessman, he's been brilliant. I'm not denying that. But they got one playoff when in four years. One. One, four years. And it's not because they haven't had talent.

It's sometimes, in my opinion, because they're distracted. That's coming up. Doug Gottlieb's around the corner. Also, top of the hour. Our first of the year, through the year, Herd hierarchy, 10 best teams in the NFL after I've seen everything, injuries, preseason, drafting, free agency. We'll lay it out for you.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments, that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games,

from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Game. 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show,

I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you can. at your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the Army Stewart of the chip.

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

If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup. team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcast, wherever you get your podcast. By the way, NFL begins Thursday. Bears host the Packers. What a great first NFL. I will say this, Doug, about the NFL.

is that the NFL really pays attention to its schedule. Like they don't miss opportunities. They put the Super Bowl champs, the Sunday game, first Sunday games, Steelers. A hundredth year of the NFL and you have the longest rivalry in the NFL. They know what they're doing. They do. But I don't think all these leagues take as much time as the NFL. We got the Cowboys Giants, then it's the Patriots Steelers, then it's the Bears, Packers.

By the way, you occasionally have, you know, you've texted. Aaron Rogers a few times in your life. Any surprise that he won the tug-a-war over audibles? No. No. I mean, like, look, it's still Aaron's car. He gets to drive the car, but, you know, what does what within the car is determined by the coach. But yes, I mean, when you're bringing a coach who's completely unproven and has a system which has worked for, I would say, mid-level and below quarterbacks. Now you want Aaron Rogers to take orders. I just, I think it's all in how it's sold to Aaron

Rogers. I'm of the teams I'm most fascinated to see, these are probably two of the most fascinating. Chicago and Green Bay. People forget how dominant Chicago was. And though Chubisky, I think you and I agree, his ceiling's lower than some of the other young quarterbacks. The fact is he hadn't played a lot of football, right?

And this was, last year was like Jared Goff two years ago. And like the Rams, they lost at home in their first playoff game. But we haven't even talked about the Bears, and they're a team that I would say, if you ask Vegas, is more likely than not to make the playoffs. And then you had the Packers who have the talent.

Some of those young talented pieces on defense and at wide receiver are now should be coming of age. How Aaron Rogers deals with that defense, with the road, and with the new offense that he might not know like the back of his hand. I think that's fascinating on Thursday. You know, I'm just saying about the Cowboys, I don't remember in my, and I'm sure there was a year, but I don't remember an offseason. I don't remember a team and this much talk of contracts and money going into a season. Like that's been the Dallas discussion. It's never about players.

it's like, give me my money. None of the contracts are up. Jerry's always been very pro player. He's sending obvious messages giving O-Lignment and linebackers a year early a contract. Is there a chance here that the Deke Zeeck thing is a little bit of a distraction in a very good division with Philadelphia? Oh, I think it's a distraction, but I think for the first time and forever, they run the benefit of a soft start to their schedule, right? If you can't beat the Giants, Redskins and the dolphins to start the season, you can't go 3-0 or at least at minimum 2-1, it doesn't really matter all. this other contract stuff. Cowboys think they're a Super Bowl team. That's really the yes, all these guys want money, but all these guys

want money across the league, right? Everybody wants to get paid. That's the nature of sports in general, but especially in this era of sports. But the problem is the Cowboys are good, think they're good, and think their division. At worst, they could be the second best team of the

division still win 10 games because the bottom of the division is so bad. So I think that's the big motivator. But yeah, it's a distraction. I frankly, I wanted to see what Tony Podler looked like as a starter. So did I. Right? Like, dude, roll the dice. Roll the dice on Zieg.

By the way, Washington, Miami, and New York all struggled in run defense. It's very difficult, unless you just throw a bunch of money in free agency. It's hard to go from mediocre to great on defense. So the chances are Washington, New York, and Miami will not be great run defenses. So I've got now an improving Michael Gallup. The O-Line's all healthy. Tony Pollard average five and a half yards of carry. My takeaway was, are the Cowboys looking at those first three run defenses and going,

we can get a little leverage here. Tony runs for 90 yards, 110, 112. That's how they should look at it, but I don't think that's how they will look at it. I mean, look, frankly, everybody points to the Steelers. Hey, look what the Steelers did. The fact is, the Steelers were top five in running the football. The year before, last year, I think they were 31st in running the football. So even though, you know, you found a replacement,

much cheaper and less of a headache, you still lost a superstar in Levyon Bell. Tony Pollard might be a really nice back behind an outstanding offensive line. We all believe Zeke Elliott's a superstar, so he's eventually going to get paid. The question is, you know, how much and how long do they want to lock into? That's really what it kind of comes down to. The Todd Gurley deal isn't just bad because of the money. It's bad because it's basically guaranteed for four years. And common sense would tell you if his knee was given him problems in year one,

it's definitely going to give him problems in year four. Well, I think the Todd Gurley injury in contract doesn't help any running back. So he gets hurt. They bring in C.J. Anderson and they get to the Super Bowl. And we were sitting there week after week going, where did C.J. Anderson come from? He was playing for Carolina. And the Raiders. Three teams last year.

So a total journeyman came in and, by the way, did not seem to affect their running game. They weren't as dynamic, but they got through a really tough NFC. Sometimes contracts are signed and they're good for our industry or bad. that Todd Gurley deal has not helped Zeke. Here's what I said yesterday. I guest hosted because you guys had nicely had the day off. Yeah, I did, yeah. When we were kids, Joy, when we were kids,

who had it in your neighborhood or in your school, their parents, what did they almost all do? Like, rich parents did what when we were kids? I wasn't around a lot of rich parents. I was rural. I grew up by raccoons. Okay. Doctors and lawyers? My dad was an optometrist, but there were no rich people.

I grew up in Grayland, Washington. We were just trying to get top. Yeah, my father was a CEO. So your point is... So in the suburbs, okay, in the hard-hitting suburbs of Orange, California, right? You look up in the hills in North Tustin. You're like, who lives out there? Like doctors, lawyers, right?

Now, who's killing it now? Finance guys. And tech people. And tech people. And basically, running backs are doctors and lawyers. They're still making good money. They're still valued. It's really hard to be a doctor or a lawyer.

And they're sitting there going like, hey, man, I got to go to... I got to get straight A's, go to great school, get into medical school, pass my MCAT, then do, you know, residency. And then, oh, yeah, I got to pay back my debt and I have to carry insurance to be a doctor. Right. And they're looking at tech guys and like, wait, these tech guys, some of them drop out of Harvard. And they can bring their dog to work. Start, start to, yeah, playing a hockey sack during break, you know.

And, you know, getting pot legalized so they can hang out and smoke Jays and do their work. Yeah. And they're sitting there going, that's not fair. No, no. That's a running back you're saying. No. Hey, look, we're still doing the same job. It's not fair.

Life's not fair. Nobody owes you anything. And sorry, running backs. If you want to make the argument that running backs are wildly underpaid, it's not really accurate. Nobody said Rashad Penny's underpaid, hasn't he? He's not even starting running back of Seattle. That was the first round draft pick.

By the way, Zeeke's first year, he got $16 million. Yeah. These new rookie deals, you get the money up front and the middle two years you don't get much. He'll get what a superstar running back should get, probably a little bit more so, probably a little bit early. It's probably not a great deal for the Cowboys. but if you're going to spend money, spend it on a guy that you know what you have.

And Zika Elliott is a great player. And if he's back, he not only helps the Cowboys. He helps my fantasy. You know, I was saying this. Everybody freaked out that Houston doesn't have a GM and they gave away a bunch of stuff. But I don't care about who won the trade. I care about who wins games. This morning, Houston can say something.

I'm not sure anybody else can say. In our division, we have the best quarterback, left tackle, defensive tackle, wide receiver. And if you and I were running NFL teams and we were told, okay, you get four positions, and they're great. You and I would both do quarterback. We probably do left tackle. We definitely do a wide receiver now. And defensive linemen matters.

Like, I know they gave up picks. But I look at Houston and I think, I'm not so sure New England and Houston aren't going to wrap up their division faster than everybody else in the division. I didn't think Houston lost. They do feel a little bit like Marissa Tomey. What's that? My cousin Vinny. My cousin Vinny, you know, where her biological clock is ticking. Their Super Bowl clock is ticking.

They're sitting there going like, hey, JJ Watts had a couple of surgeries. Whitney Merciless is, I think, 29. You know, Deshaun Watson's torn in his knee twice, but now he should be, he's a legit starting quarterback. Like, we're all kind of getting older. Like, let's get it done. They massively overpaid for Laramie Tunsell. Yes.

Let's not kid ourselves. Laramie Tunsell might be a top five talent and left tackle, but he's not performed like a top five play. No, he's not a top five tag. I talked to an exec this weekend. He said, listen, he's ascending, but he's not there yet. Correct.

Correct. And I do think there's some addition by subtraction getting rid of Gedevian Clownie. remarkably talented. Yeah. But even John Schneider said he's a freak when he plays. He just doesn't play hard the whole time. He doesn't.

It's been the same thing with him all the time. We've talked about this. He's a great. If you just watch highlights, I remember when he came out of college, Doug. I worked at the other place and there was a highlight package. And I'm like, why are all his highlights from two games?

Like when he's on, you can't block him. But he can disappear for stretches. I mean, like, look, NFL draft how many times we hear high motor, right? High motor, right? In the NFL, it's, you got to have a high motor. It's what you get out of what you have, not just what you have.

So I understand all that with Houston. But man, this is, there's some, like the amount of changing things right before the season. Incredible. And the idea that a head coach would come in and go, yeah, this makes sense. And you have professional. And John Steiner's laughing, cackling. Like, wait, we had to give up what? And they're paying half the freight?

Yeah, they're paying half of his contract. Yeah, the first year, Seattle, none pays squat. but Seattle also gave up Frank Clark, so Clowny better hit for them. Or you're just going to get a guy. Yes, they are betting on Jadevian County being motivated by the fact that they agreed to not franchise tag him, so he'll be a free agent. That's right.

So I do think that's smart. Okay, we got about a minute and a half left. Okay. You play basketball at Oklahoma State. You know all the Oklahoma people. Jalen hurts two years ago. I closed my eyes when he threw the ball. Okay.

I watched him with Lincoln Riley. I'm like, that's a third straight transfer quarterback that walks in an hour later, you're like, that's the best quarterback in college. football maybe. Yeah, he's quarterback Jesus. He just sprinkles magic pixie. I do think that we undersell Jalen Hertz a little bit, right? Like, kids super smart, unbelievable leader.

He was the SEC player of the year, offensive player of the year in 2016. I agree with you, he was not a great accurate pastor, and he's playing against a Houston team that's a joke. They're terrible defensively. You know, that's why they fired Major Rappaloite and they lost their best player to the draft. And you got Holgerson coming in this. So it's

a perfect storm of Oklahoma at home against a bad defense. with Lincoln Riley. And remember, he had the spring with him, not just the fall with him as well. But what Lincoln Riley has been able to do, you almost feel like we might have to change the name of the Heisman Trophy to the Lincoln Riley Memorial Awards. You know, because whatever magic pixie does, he sprinkles. There's some design runs he has there. When Jalen Hurts drops back and throws, you feel like he can make a college quarterback into a great win. Now, it doesn't mean he translates to the pros

because of a different game. Yeah, I mean, Baker has done well. But again, I, I, I, When you go college to the pros, you get much better coaching. Generally. Yes. Not with Lincoln Riley. Freddie Kitchens is not as good as Lincoln Riley. Freddie Kitchens was a tight end running back coach, longer in the NFL than quarterback coach. Link, I think Lincoln is...

But in fairness, Lincoln is a great college coach for coaching college football. The pro game is different. Like, well, okay, well, let's see with Arizona. Right, let's see. What if Kyler's not great? Yeah, well, what if that offense doesn't work? You know, which is a similar style to this offense. Right.

Calamary was unbelievable in the air raid offense, and it is yet it's used by New England. It's used by Pittsburgh, but not the whole thing. That's because the sense is that it won't protect the quarterback and it won't work long term. Good stuff. Doug Gottlieb, listen to his show After Mine on Fox Sports Radio. Thank him for filling in for us yesterday. We're back. Heard hierarchy next. One more Heard? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app.

Search Heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Here we go on a Tuesday. NFL's first week. We got a game Thursday. Green Bay at Chicago, this is the hurt. Wherever you may be in, however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Got some sun this weekend.

Hope you did. Joy has just wrapped up her hottest places on Earth summer tour. It was unexpectedly hot in Kansas City. You know who Earl and I were hanging out with Sharon Rush. Really? Yeah, from UCLA. How'd that happen? He lives in Kansas City. He's from Kansas City. Oh, there you go.

You know, Earl and him have been friends forever, so that was a perfect match there, UCLA. I was at a wave pool in Las Vegas on Saturday. A wave pool? Yeah, at Mandalay Bay. And then I was out of it by like 1130 because he got too hot. Yeah, you said you were not going to stay in the pool. No, no, I went 8 in the morning to 1130. I was in a wave pool with my son, laughed our heads off, thought it was a riot. And then we're like, okay, it's crowded and 148 degrees. Let's go inside. I got to say, I don't peg you for a wave pool guy.

It was fun. Oh, you get me around water? Oh, yeah. I wake surf. You like sit in the two? No, no, no, no. I do the lazy river, and then I do the wake, the pool, and it knocks me over. And I love that stuff. I'm a water dad, ski dad, water dad. Okay.

All right, so I do this every Tuesday. You know, on Monday I do Colin right, calling wrong. And every Tuesday at this time, Monday night football is over. I say these are the 10 best teams in the league. And so we don't have any games yet. This is based off the draft, free agency, injuries, what I've seen in the preseason. Here we go, our 10 through 1 are herd hierarchy. Third hierarchy.

Time is now, let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. Chicago Bears, I like their defensive personnel. I think there's limitations with Mitch Trubisky last five games. He had five touchdowns and five interceptions. The good news for the Bears is, I think for the first time in 20 years, I simultaneously like their coach, Matt Nagy, and their general manager, Ryan Pace.

offensive line will see quarterback low ceiling they lost defensive coordinator vangio their schedule now is a first place schedule listen we know defensively their front seven's going to be a handful but i think there's a lot of good front sevens in the nfl uh and they have better quarterbacks so i put the bears at 10 number nine uh the chargers now last year i had them near the top but derwin james their best athlete is out until probably thanksgiving Melvin Gordon, I wouldn't want to pay him more than $9, $10 million a year, but he matters, and he's out. They've also had Terrell Williams, a wide receiver, their third receivers now in Oakland,

Jason Verrett, a good corner left. And, you know, I just think they've lost their best athlete on defense, maybe, well, their best running back on offense. And Russell O'Coon, they've had health issues with him on the offensive line. So I don't think it's going to be a great September for the Chargers. I think it's going to be a little bumpy. I've got them at nine. Number eight.

Dallas Cowboys. Again, they've got new coordinators. I expect them to be a battling for a playoff spot by the end of the year. But it's very possible with new coordinators, the Zieg situation. They're not as dialed in as you'd want them to be. Here's what I like about Dallas. They were seven and two with the Amari Cooper trade. Jason Wittons come in, the healthy offensive line for the first time it feels like

in like a 15-18 months their offensive line is healthy. So it's a very good football team. They also ended, I haven't heard much about Randall Cobb, but they also threw him into the bunch at wide receiver. So I think there's a very good Dallas Cowboy team that's got a remarkable number of great players under 25. Now, I'd rather you be older once the playoffs start, but I think that serves them well in the regular season. Number seven. Green Bay. Again, they could be much higher than this.

I have them winning their division. I think they've made a real commitment to defense in the last couple of years. I thought they had a very, very good draft. defensively. And I thought they had a very good free agent. They picked up middle level, mid-level free agents like Preston Smith, the linebacker from Washington, didn't cost them a fortune. They got Billy Turner on the offensive line. Aaron Rogers had a down year, but it was 25 touchdowns, two interceptions. I think their schedule is very workable. In fact, I think they win their opener at Chicago on Thursday. I think it's a very interesting team that will likely be better as

the season goes on. They are young in spot. But they've always developed a very good offensive line. Devonte Adams is a ascending star at wide receiver. Aaron Jones is one of the more underrated running backs in the league. And Aaron Rogers is healthy, so I have Green Bay at seven. Number six. Houston Texans. I think they have the best quarterback, wide receiver, defensive lineman,

and arguably left tackle in their division. I don't care about the draft picks. Don't forget this. Houston Texans are interesting. Like when I say Houston Texans, you're like, they're okay. They've won their division. in three of the last four years. That's pretty good.

And I think they're very good at the positions that matter. Again, Bill O'Brien keeps winning his division, and because they don't pay it off in the postseason, we kind of forget about them. Well, it's not like Andrew Locke had a ton of, you know, we all love Indianapolis's rise, and then they weren't winning a ton of playoff games either. So I think the Texans are a real team.

I think they have absolutely elevated the most important spot on the offense. defensive line and I'll put them at number six. Number five. New England Patriots. I think by the end of the year, they could be the best team. I don't think they'll be the best team early. They lost David Andrews, the center. I'm sorry, that's a big deal for New England.

He calls the Audibles. I think their wide receiver group could be good, but it's really choppy. Josh Gordon just arrived. Edelman was out for most of camp. Demarius Thomas was out and cut. He's back. Nikiel Harry, who I think could be really good wide receiver, he's on the IR. Gronk retired. Chris Hogan's gone.

They're a running power team now more than I ever remember, but I don't think their O-line and their receiving group will be settled. They open with Pittsburgh. That's no day at the beach, so if they have a choppy September, don't be shocked. Number four. Slightly ahead of them, the Pittsburgh Steelers. They got rid of some noise. They're very focused.

I think they did a really job to quietly upgrade their defense. They went and got Steve Nelson a corner from Kansas City. I think it's maybe the best secondary potentially they've had in a while, They went and got Mark Barron who can play linebacker. They went and drafted Devin Bush, who has been very, very good, it looks like, so far in the preseason. I think their defense is going to be better. They led the NFL in Sacks anyway. I get the noise of Antonio Brown and Libyan Bell.

Those stories are now gone. Big Ben, by the way, led the NFL in passing yards last year. So his precision is not as good as I'd like, but he continues to be an elite, you know, top 10 quarterback in the NFL. And also added Dante Moncrief. James Washington looks good at wide receiver in year two from Oklahoma State. I got him at four. Number three. L.A. Rams.

You know, I know because I'm in L.A., Colin, Colin Rams. Todd Gurley's back and healthy. Cooper Cup, who's actually the guy they target more than any other receiver when he's healthy is back. They've added smart guys like Eric Weddle. Their offensive line, they've drafted it well. And, you know, they rank. in top five last year in rushing, in passing, yards per game. Only team in the NFL top five in both.

I think they're a very balanced offense. In their division, they've got rebuilding Arizona and kind of not sure what to make of them, Seattle. And a San Francisco team that's talented, but they're rebuilding. I think it's very possible they go five and one in their division. I have Rams at three. Number two. Philadelphia Eagles, I think, will end up in the Super Bowl. The best combination of offensive and defensive line talent in the NFL.

Carson Wentz got hurt last year. But even last year with Carson Wentz, he had a career high in a completion percentage, passing touchdowns, passing yards a game. They've added Deshawn Jackson a very nice deep threat, though at the end of his career. He can still make plays. Andre Dillard, a tackle, maybe the sleeper in the draft, if a first round guy can be a sleeper. I think this is just organizationally a very strong outfit. GM Howie Roseman, the owner, the coach, and the quarterback.

I like the Eagles a lot. Number one. Kansas City Chiefs. I think Andy Reed's team start really hot. He's a great play designer in the offseason. They'll unveil some new tricks. I do not buy for a second that Patrick Mahomes is going to, like he peaked last year. Well, if that's the peak and he comes down 5%, I'm okay with that.

The thing I like about him, they added Shady McCoy this week to give them a little running back depth. They made a huge acquisition this offseason in Frank Clark, Seattle's best defensive lineman. I think between Chris Jones and Frank Clark, they are going to be a complete handful up front. They've won at least 10 games in four straight seasons, but like the Houston Texans, because they don't pay off with a lot of playoff wins.

You think of the Texans and you think it can't say, it's a double-digit win team. This is what they do. They win 10 games. Andy Reid's one of the best coaches. They led the NFL last year, averaging almost 430 yards a game. I do not see it going down.

By the way, they drafted a wide receiver second round. McCull Hardman, Watch him. He had a good preseason. Keep your eye on him. So I have Kansas City number one. Colin, no Saints? No. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Well, that's not what I was thinking. And I think there may be 11.

I got them, I have them. I think they'll be fine. But I think Atlanta this year is better. I think Atlanta, I'd put 11. And, you know, that's a funny thing because I was talking to you guys this morning in the meeting. It's like, I feel great about all my predictions except the NFC South. I never know what to make of it. If you told me Carolina wins 11 and 5. Remember we did that last week?

And I'm like, yeah, I can see them going 11 and 5. Atlanta last year I had on the Super Bowl. And then their secondary, they had these like season-ending injuries. I think it was Dion Jones, the linebacker got hurt. So they were just a mess. They've upgraded. They believe coordinators. Matt Ryan, by the way, last year, again,

there's so many young, exciting quarterbacks, the Baker Mayfields, that we didn't talk about Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan had a monster year last year. They have clearly upgraded their offensive line in the draft. So Atlanta. and Matt's a guy that needs a good front, like Phillip Rivers, he's not going to run around a lot. So I think Atlanta solved their big problem, O-line,

and I think they're not going to be as unlucky with injuries. So I picked Atlanta to win the division, so I'd probably have them 11. I could argue Atlanta's 11, New Orleans 12, Carolina 13. They're all just right there depending on who's healthy. Heard brought to you by Draft Kings. Appreciate them sponsoring our show, so we're ready to go. I saw something this week.

Again, there is a coach that deserves more credit, and you don't like him because he yells and he screams and his face turns purple and you don't like him. He is a great coach. You don't like him. He is a great coach. He's the last coach in America that's great and you won't admit it. And that's coming up. Plus, Reggie Bush is around the corner. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, or 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming.

Ramers sending on the Army. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back.

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

Listen to Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. By the way, I just have to say this. Reggie Bush is here. I'm going to go on a rant for a minute, Reggie, so you can just have to deal with my whatever, my rantism.

Okay. Everybody knows who are good coaches in football. I'm so over the criticism of Brian Kelly. Okay, I admit, sometimes on the sideline, it looks like his head's going to explode. He's gruff. He's not a great interview.

He's had four jobs. He's won big at all of them. He's at Notre Dame. It's an academic power. He won 13 games last year. Okay, there are kids that go to Clemson and Bama and LSU. He can't get. It's hard to recruit kids to Notre Dame.

It's the middle of nowhere. It's cold. We have people on our staff that went to Notre Dame. Listen, this guy wins everywhere. He does something. He did it last night that very few college coaches do. Some do, not many. He makes adjustments.

In the NFL, if you can't make adjustments, you get fired. In college, if you can recruit and can't make adjustments, you're a millionaire. Florida State this weekend makes no adjustments. Oregon this weekend makes no adjustments. Tennessee this weekend can't make adjustments. Notre Dame was awful last night in the first quarter. By the third quarter defensively, they'd figured everything out. That is coaching.

Brian Kelly's one of a handful of college coaches. Urban Meyer was good at this. Pete Carroll was good at this. Nick Saban, were they going at half time and say, all right, that's not working. Let's do this. And you come out and see a completely different team in the second half. This guy is a winner. He's won everywhere. He's not likable. I went to his Wikipedia page last night. Even the picture on there, he looks gruff and like he'd punch in the forehead. If you met him in a bar and had a disagreement over football. The dude can flat coach. All right, let's go to Reggie Bush.

Now, by the way, generally Reggie, your NFL coach is better than your college coach, but you had Pete Carroll, so I would imagine your college coaching was really good. We had really good college coaching. Ken Norton, Jr. was one of our linebackers, defense coordinators.

Todd McNair was my running back's coach who had also played in the league for a number of years as well. So there's just a different level of respect, and I speak for all players when I say this. There's a different level of respect when your position coach has actually played the position. And at USC they had. And USC, that's what we had.

We had coaches who played position almost at every position. We had a lot of experience. And I think that's part of the reason why we were so good is because it's a different tone than when Ken Norton Jr. is telling you how to go play an offensive package as opposed to some other defense coordinator or a position coach who has never seen it or done it. What was the first running back coach you had in the NFL? First real true running back coach I had was when I got to Miami Dolphins. Six years in? Six years in. So for you, your college coaching was better than your NFL coaching.

Yes, way better. Okay. Well, it's a Hall of Fame coach, so that doesn't shock me. All right, so college football this weekend, what do you make of this Jalen Hertz? I mean, literally everybody that goes to Oklahoma, I was just like, I didn't like him throwing the ball down. It's a great story, by the way, great kid. Great story. But is it huge?

I mean, how do you explain this? Well, a couple things. I look at Jalen Hertz's DNA. And what I've seen from him, how he handled that situation, he handled it perfectly. To me, that he became a man through that situation of Tua taking over and him having to be the second stream starter. Because not everybody can handle that, right? And it is hard as heck to sit there. and watch somebody take your spot, take your shine, right?

Take your reps and your plays. And it's a national story. And it's a national story on top of that at the best program in college football right now. So it's kind of embarrassing. It's very embarrassing for his part. And now to see where he is and to see that game that he had, I became a bigger fan of him. The post-game interview he did on the football field was, to me,

the most impressive part about the whole game. She couldn't get him to smile. She couldn't get him to laugh. His whole focus was on we got to get better. We got to get better. He didn't stand there and say that, well, I had a great game today. You know, everything was really working for me. It was we.

And he put it on himself to make sure his guys got better. He said, I got to get my guys right. My guys, we got to get better because he knew that, hey, we had a good game, but there were still enough mistakes in this game that could get us beat by an Alabama or a Clemson football team if we have to see them in the playoffs. All right. You also played 11 years in the NFL, five of the Saints, couple with the dolphins, lions in there for a couple years. So I'm excited. Thursday night, it's Packers, it's Chicago. Yeah. So there's a new coach in Green Bay. It's still Aaron's team. But go back to your NFL career.

Did you ever play for a team that had a new coach? Yes. Which one? My last five years in the league. Miami twice. Detroit twice had a new coach. And Sam Fran. You're a good guest today. And then also Buffalo, Rex got fired in that same year. So I had a new coach in the same year. Good guest for today. So when you get a new coach, you have your OTAs. They implement the system.

Then you go to camp. So what should we expect from Green Bay? If there's any concerns when you had five new coaches, is September choppy? September is definitely choppy. Oh, for sure. September is choppy. And it really depends on, listen, you got Aaron Rogers as your quarterback. you have a good safety valve, right?

Let's say the offensive system is not flowing as you would like it to, but you can always rely on Aaron Rogers to get you in the right spot. He'll bail you out. He'll get you in the right spots. He'll make the right decisions on the field. You can depend on him in high-pressured situations. Maybe it's the fourth and one or at the end of the game or the end of a half, right? You can depend on Aaron Rogers to make sure he gets you to the right places.

Sorry, what's your other question? But if we go back to when you add new coaches, how long, Reggie, before you don't even have to think about the offense, it's just, it's like in the Saints. It takes a while. It takes a while. It's not here we go, game one, we're hitting all cylinders. It's usually maybe week five, six, maybe, sometimes it even takes halfway through the season to get there. It's not easy. And I think people forget that as well because new archivalers.

offensive coordinators bring in a whole new playbook, right? They're not bringing in and doing the same playbook that got the last guy fired. They're going to bring in a whole new system, and they're going to bring in what they know, what they know to work. So it takes time because you're learning a new offense is like learning a new language. You got new terminology, you got new checks, you got new reads, you got new schemes, different ways to get to different plays. You got different window dressing when coaches like to use shifts in motions. So it really on the offense coordinator and the quarterback. Like how well are they getting along together early on?

This will be an interesting one. So Zeke and Levian Belt. Lavin Bell hasn't been hit in a game in a year and a half. Zeke is supposed to be in great shape, but he hasn't been hit. Now, Reggie, really take our audience inside this. There is a difference between having great abs and getting whacked coming through the two hole, right? Yes. So give me an idea when you go back some of the difficulties for a Zeke or a Lavian Bell,

first couple of games of the season, not that they're not in game shape, but there's a certain body armor. You can't fake in practice. Yes. And that's the one thing, you know, because I always laugh when, you know, you see guys who've been retired for a year or two and they want to come back and plays because they haven't been hit, right? Their body's feeling great. They ain't been touched. And you're like, yeah, that's why you're. feel like you can still play because you're not getting hit.

There is a difference between live game reps getting hit and just going through the motions. There's a difference between doing cone drills and simulating a 300-pound defense alignment trying to take your head off, which you can't simulate that other than getting live game reps. And so with respects to Levyon Bell, I would have liked to see him play at least a couple plays in a preseason game. I mean, at least maybe one or two preseason games where he got some live game reps because he missed a whole year of football. You know, and if Lavian had played last year, I would have no worries with him not, with him missing the whole preseason.

Yeah, I don't need Todd Gurley to play. Exactly. Like, you've seen it last year, right? We've seen it multiple years in a row. Yeah, Levian's interesting. And by the way, he's a 275 touch guy. Exactly. So in game one, he could have 1924, 28 touches.

Exactly. And for Zeke, I don't feel the same way as I do about Leveon because Zeke has had enough carries, enough hits in this league to where it's almost like Ledanyan Thompson when he was playing. He never played preseason, right? You don't want to get him beat up. But you do want to have him in the building, right? You do want to have him in game shape, right?

Because just doing Coenjurys and working out in the gym and running on the sand is not going to get you in game shape for the NFL. By the way, what did you feel like on Monday? or Tuesday after an NFL game if you had 20 carries. You barely be able to get out of the bed sometimes. I remember days there was a time where my wife had to help me walk me to the bathroom just to use the bathroom because...

I'm 50. That happens all the time. Because of, you know, just the pain and the torture your body goes through and people don't realize like even the little hits are like car accidents. Well, running back is the last position in football that there's unavoidable violence. Like most of the sport has stopped hitting,

except running back. Except running back. You're the only guy that I can hit, and you don't know I'm coming. I can't do that to a tight end. I can't do it to a receiver. You can't do it to a quarterback. You come through that hole and pal.

Just light you up as much as they want. And the running back is always outweighed. Like, it's not like when you, in boxing, you're fighting somebody who's in your weight class. In football, you got a 300-pound, you know, defensive tackle. Lidaman can sue who can rip your head off, you know, at any point in time. And you're two, I'm 205 on a good day.

You know what I mean? So it's very tough for running backs. And I've always felt like it's one of the hardest positions just based on the laws of gravity. Right. Reggie, good seeing you. Yeah, thanks. By the way, a Fox college football show debuted this week. It was fantastic.

Reggie's a part of it. Urban Brady, Matt, Rob Stone, all good stuff. Come see us. Yep, Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So the Colts have said they are all in on Jacoby Percette as their quarterback following Andrew Luck's retirement.

And yesterday they put their money where their mouth is. They signed Peret to a two-year $30 million extension with $20 million guaranteed. I like that. That's what you should do. Give him a couple years, draft a quarterback. But take care of him financially. He's set. Well, look, I mean, Jacoby did play in 2017 when Luck was injured.

He had a little over 3,000 yards, 13 touchdowns, seven interceptions. I mean, completion rate not great, 58.8%. But, you know, you want to look for him to develop, and he hasn't had a lot of time to develop. So this is their guy, at least going into this year, pay him, have some stability in the franchise. I like everything the cults have done as far as handling what's happened with Andrew Luck so far.

And this is what they needed to do. Like, if you're going to go into a season where you have such an emotional letdown in luck retiring so dramatically and surprisingly, you want to give the fans the feeling like, okay, we still have everything together. We know what we're doing. It's not man overboard. Let's sign Jacoby

Berset to a deal. Let's see what happens the next few years. We're in a good spot. We felt like we were a Super Bowl contender this year. So obviously we're going to take a step back with Jacoby percent from Andrew Lach, but that's a given. I don't believe in what the dolphins are doing. Like, that's a dramatic swing in the

complete other direction. I don't believe you tank and then, you lose, and then all of a sudden flip a switch and start winning. Colts? couldn't be a playoff team if they stayed healthy. They have the best offensive line in their division. Their weakness was corner, and they totally elevated. They found a running back in Marlon Mack.

They have a very nice wide receiver and tight end group. One of the best young linebackers in football, Darius Leonard. They added Justin Houston. So, I mean, the one thing I questioned in the draft was Corner, and they addressed that. And pass rush. So I would make an argument. It's the most complete roster in their division. but they have a quarterback with a lower ceiling.

But if I said tomorrow, they won the division, it was nine and seven, you'd be like, all right, it's, they don't, Andrew Luck, as good as he was, they took some of his responsibility last year off of Andrew Luck. They became much more tight end run centric. Which is what they needed to do. They should have never been all on Andrew Luck. They were two Andrew Luck centrist.

Right. So Des Bryant is trying to make an NFL return. He's working hard after being released by the Cowboys. He signed with the Saints in November of 2018, He tours Achilles in practice and never saw the field, and he's been training with wide receivers coach David Robinson, who told NFL reporter Jane Slater that Des is healthy and moving fast and explosive. He Dez also told Slater, I'm way better than I was before I went to the Saints last year. Mid-October is when I'm going to try and get back in the league. I actually like this.

I feel like Des had kind of an incomplete dramatic halt to his career. Obviously, everything that happened with the Cowboys was a bit of a dude. disaster and, you know, you were kind of, at least I was rooting to see what he was going to do with the Saints, especially with Drew Brees, and that injury is just the worst, especially in practice. So I'd like to see Des come back and finish out his career, at least on a high note. Like, I don't, I think Des still has some in the tank. You have to be careful about Des because Des and T.O. look great in workout videos because they're like, they, those guys have abs.

Like, you look at T.O. and you look at him and you're like, oh, that's a first round pick. And then you watch him run and you're like, oh, he can't. run anymore. Like, there is a big difference. Like, Des was never, Goulet, you're a cowboy fan. He was never a big separator down the field, but he was such a big physical specimen. So I'll watch T.O. and Des'

workout video, and I'm like, oh, that's a first round guy, but receivers now, there are so many good ones. They're so fast. I mean, there's just so many good players out there in this league on the perimeter. Well, I think we can all admit that Des slowed down a little bit. That was the critique of Des' game, is that he lost

a little bit of his step, and his route running was as precise or whatever you want to say, but Des is still a very skilled receiver. I don't think that Des is done. I'd like to see him on a squad. I think that we got robbed of that with that injury with the Saints, and it felt like he was just about to prove everyone wrong, and then it got taken away, and it's like his body was failing him.

So hopefully he's back. So the bills released LaShawn McCoy this weekend. The top two contenders to sign him were the Chargers and the Chiefs, and Shady chose to return to his former coach, Andy Reed, in Kansas City. His reasoning for the decision. He said there were a group of teams that called in, and I thought were probably the best fit for me.

You see, the offense is trying to get there and fit in a small role. These guys are rolling to be a part of it. I think we have a great chance at a championship. You have to pick a team that you want to play for. And I think the best part of it is Andy Reid, who has been one of my favorite coaches of my NFL career, and I think it's probably my best fit over there. It would have been good, too.

But L.A. is far, and I have a 7-year-old son, so he wouldn't have liked that very much, and also the taxes. I actually think that's a brilliant, I mean, to be honest with you, when you're at the end of your career, that's exactly what you should do. What's best for your kids and what's best for your taxes? And by the way, I'll take Andy Reid. Nothing against Anthony Lynn, but Andy's one of the great play designers of my life. When I hear pro athletes talk about this stuff, I'm like, okay, that's how you do it.

Because at this point, he wants to win games, go to a coach that gets him, he wants to be close to his son, and that taxes thing. Like, that's exactly what I would say. Right, that's a very reasonable. Yeah, so like that's exactly what a veteran guy should go for. Can I win? Right, coach. Right.

Money and my family. And he, if he has the option, pick a situation where, you know, you know Andy Reid. You started your career with Andy Reid. We were just talking about with Reggie how long it takes to adjust to a new coach in a new system. Why wouldn't you go to a situation where you feel comfortable? And they're both contenders. So it's not like you're choosing, you know, to go with a team that really has no chance just for a more comfortable situation. It's also because of Tyreek Hill, hard to double, safe.

are out of the box. It's an above-average offensive line. He can be a complimentary piece. You can't just glom on to him. You know, could he have made more money potentially on a team that desperately needed him? They don't desperately need him. He is a nice late.

Well, I mean, he's making one year four million. And he's worth every penny of them. Right. And that's a good situation for them. Yeah. Everybody won there. Exactly. Everybody won. Good for him.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. By the way, there's a reason the Patriots don't draft a lot of receivers. Because of Tom Brady, it's very hard to make an impact. Running backs go from college to the Patriots. All hit.

Receivers, it's hard. If Tom doesn't trust you, if you miss practices, you miss routes. Prime example, Nikiel Harry's on the IR. You're not going to start the season. We're not going to see him until Thanksgiving. He got banged out. ankle issues, and I've said this about New England. I think McKeel Harry's a good player.

It is hard as a wide receiver to go to New England with Tom Brady. There are quarterbacks in this league that a young receiver, Aaron Rogers, Big Ben can go to. They ab-lib a little bit more. Tom is now so precise. He doesn't want to get hit. He's not doing seven-step drops. If you don't learn the offense, if you miss practice time, I'm not throwing it to you. and Nikiel Harry, according to reports, had one or two nice days of practice, got a banged-up ankle,

mispractice, and you're not going to get the ball thrown to you. This shows you why New England loves to draft running backs. They all work, and they don't like drafting wide receivers. This is why they go get a West Walker. They get a Chris Hogan. They get a Demarius Thomas. They get a Randy Moss. They go out and get people already in the league that can come in, know the pro game,

and Tom is incredibly demanding on wide receivers. So here's Nikiel Harry. They go back and say, okay, we don't draft receivers. Well, let's go try to get another one. And he's not going to play. And he had missed practices. And once you miss practices with Tom, you know, you're out of the order. Here, for our TV audience, I'm not going to read all the names.

We're putting up their high round draft picks at wide receiver. It just doesn't work. It just doesn't work with New England. So I hope the kid works. He's a hard worker, but it shows you, you know, Tom is running a precise offense, and it's up to you to fit into it. He's not fitting into your college style. You've got to fit into him. You get hurt in camp.

You're done. Solomon Wilcox has been with CBS for a long time. He's going to join us next to talk some NFL football. Thursday, we have Bears hosting the Green Bay Packers, and I can't wait. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, 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, as 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. American Soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the Army Stewart of the chip. I'm Tab Ramos.

I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balligan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers,

he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast.

The NFL is finally back and we've got a huge doubleheader to open this season. First, the Redskins take on Carson Wednesday. and the Eagles. Then it's America's game of the week as Saquan, Barkley, and the Giants take on Zach and the Cowboys or other regional action, all on Fox or the Fox Sports app. Check your local listings. By the way, Blazing Five

on Friday. One of those games is my favorite bet of the week on Friday. So we do our Thursday college bets and our Friday NFL picks. Solomon Wilcoats played in the NFL for six years. He's now an analyst with the pro football focus and he is joining us live via the Coward

Global Satellite Network. Solomon, you've played in this league. You covered as a broadcaster for years and years, formerly of CBS, and you're now an analyst. I want to talk about Jadavian Clowny. My knock on him is he's a great highlight player. Sometimes he can disappear. At pro football focus, what are the numbers saying on him? Well, our grades on him in terms of the past rushing grade is right around in the 70s over the course of his career.

Now, that's good, but I don't. know that you could call that great. In fact, you cannot call it great. He's a good pass rusher, not a great one. He's excellent in terms of defending the run. What they've tried to do is move him around and try to get matchup advantages for Jadavion Clowny with J.J. J.J. Watton, Whitney Merciless on that defense. And so they've been able to hide him a little bit because he's such a great athlete. He's been able to make these splash plays. Yeah. But down in and down-out. We have him being a good pass rusher, not a great one. You know, it is funny about the data because it's very easy to be seduced by the big hit or

the big catch. When you look at Dak Prescott, we all know he doesn't rank up there with Aaron Rogers. But would you be concerned? I mean, at PFF, who's his comp? Who does he grade out like, Dak Prescott? More of what we call our second-tier quarterbacks. Maybe he's not with the elite quarterbacks like Brady Breeze, Aaron Rogers, or even Russell Wilson. But maybe in that second tier. However, you have other guys who are also in that second tier like Kirk Cousins, who's now getting top tier money at $28 million a year. Carson Wentz would be a second tier quarterback.

He's getting $32 million a year. So you can see why Dat Prescott's agent is also asking for $30 million a year. You know, it's funny. We talk on this show about analytics in the NBA hurt centers. It's more of a guard wing league. Analytics in baseball have hurt the managers. Now the general manager gives the manager the lineup card. In the NFL, Melvin Gordon's a very good back.

But there's no offers for him. The chargers, the trade market. I mean, pro football focus. Is Zeke an outlier to you? Pay him, but very few others? I think Zeke is an outlier. I think he's right up there with, by far, I think, the best running back in the National Football League. One of the areas maybe people don't look at, his ability to protect the quarterback in 203 assignments in terms of past protection,

he's only allowed one sack during his three-year career in the National Football League. We already know what he's done in the three years in terms of his rush grades. He's averaging over 100 yards per game for his career. So I believe he's an outlier because he can do everything. He can run it. He can catch it. But he can protect the quarterback better than any running back in the National Football League. I think he's an outlier.

And I think the Cowboys are going to end up giving him the money that he's asking for. I think he's going to come close. Okay. I want to talk about Aaron Rogers. Matt LaFleur doesn't have a very thick resume of NFL success, though a bright young guy. Aaron's got a big resume full of all sorts of rings. wins, division titles. Do you worry about that relationship?

Analytically, does it worry you? Because Lafleur's got a more rigid system. Aaron tends to like Big Bend to add a little bit. Now, how does it fall for you and land for you? You know, I believe if you're Matt LaFleur, I think you're going to talk with Aaron Rogers. I think you're going to give him as much as he needs to be able to go out and win games.

Aaron Rogers is like any other great quarterback that we've ever known. put it on me. I'll take us to the promise land. I'll win us the game. If you're a young coach like Matt LaFleur, why would you not give it over to the 15-year veteran who has great athleticism? He has great smarts. He's willing to put in the work during the week to prepare to win games. I would allow him to audible and make adjustments at the line of scrimmage, get us out of those egregious plays and get us into a more favorable or advantageous play. I think the coach and the quarterback can work together. I would not be at all thinking about what people are going to say about if I'm a young head coach

if I have a quarterback like Aaron Rogers. Are you worried at all we shift to New England? Nikiel Harry's not going to play. Edelman DeMarius Thomas had injuries, Ms. Camp, Hogan and Gronker gone. They've got rookies who Tom can be very reluctant to throw to. I mean, I don't worry about them, Solomon, Thanksgiving on. but I do look at that receiving core now. They feel like to me they've become a time of possession running football team in Tom's last year or two.

That's what it feels like to me. Analytics, pro football.com. What does it say? Well, I think what you have to look at this and you say, well, if you're going to get the Patriots, you better get them early. You better get them in September while they're morphing, are evolving into the team that they want to be. with these receivers, they're a more veteran group. When you have a veteran group of receivers,

they should be able to side adjust to the coverages that they're seeing once they leave the line of scrimmage. That's what Tom Brady expects. You have to be on the same page with the quarterback when you side adjust to the coverage. Younger receivers struggle in this phase of the game. More veteran receivers do a much better job. What we expect from the Patriots early in the season,

they may go with a heavy personnel, like 22 personnel, two running backs, two tight ends, and get you to keep your heavy, big body defensive players on the field. What do they do? They'll still throw the ball because they believe their running backs and tight ends match up more favorably with your safeties and your linebackers. They may go small with 11 personnel. That is one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers, and they may decide to run the ball out of it,

forcing you to tackle with five defensive backs. Bill Belichick is very good at morphing and being very flexible and to becoming whatever he needs to become on offense, making sure that you're at a disadvantage when it's time to defend against Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. So we could get a myriad of many things, but you can expect them to evolve maybe around late October, early November. That's a really smart breakdown of the Patriots. We've only got about a minute left, just a gut feeling on what we're going to get from Cleveland. Rookie coach, youngest roster, Baker Mayfield in a minute. What do you suspect we get?

I like Freddie Kitchens, by the way. I like his play design. I think we saw it with a small sample size in the final eight games of last year, more shot plays, a lot of plays of getting the ball down the field, but yet they still have the presence of mind to run the ball just enough to keep you off balance. This is going to be an explosive offense making a lot of plays, but I like Freddie Kitchens. He comes from that school of Tom Moore and Bruce Ariens.

Get the ball down the field. Points come out of the passing game. I expect the Cleveland Browns to score a lot of points on offense. Solomon Wilcox, pfet.com. Good breakdowns today, Solomon. I'm not sure if we've talked before, but I liked all that stuff. Solomon continued success. Say hi to our buddy Chris Collinsworth.

We'll do. Thanks, Colin. You bet. It's based in Cincinnati and Solomon out there. used to be a Bengal and a Minnesota Viking, if I recall. So good for him. That's a good breakdown of the Patriots. Got my aluminum carry-on.

Away luggage is unbelievable. It's fantastic. I want you to go to awaytravel.com slash Colin. Awaytravel.com slash Colin. Check it out $20 off when you enter the code, C-O-L-I-N. So we'll keep you updated. They're saying in Dallas, if Zeke doesn't show up today, Tuesday, then he's not. going to play Sunday. I just want to see him without Zeke for a game. I just want to see

totally Pollard. I want to see how it works. I don't love Tony Pollard for 300 carries, but 170 carries behind that all line. Jason Witten now, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup looks like, Randall Cobb. I want to see that offense without Zeke for a game. Hour 3 next. 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. Hugh Jackson stopped by. Great to see him. You know, it's amazing. You get some time off way from the game, the goatee. It looked like a million dollars. Look at you. Thank you. Healthy and happy. Thank you. And a good place. And excited to be here, though. It's great. So, Hugh, I want to ask you, so Seattle goes and gets, they lost Frank Clark, who's a real player. So they got to get a pass rush. So they bring in Judeavian Clownie. It's late. Houston, offensive line issues. Bill O'Brien's an offensive guy. I got the Sean Watson. He's had two surgeries. I got to get a left. tackle. How problematic is it? Those are important positions,

but how tough is it to take a Clownie or Laramie Tunzel? Now I got seven days to get ready. Is it tough? It's tough. But those are positions that you have to have that talent at. You're talking about a guy that's going to protect the quarterback in Tonsol, and you're talking about

a guy that's going to rush the quarterback in Clowny. I mean, they're two of the better players in the National Football League, get their positions. And if you have a chance to secure their services, you need to. average game in this league is four points. So obviously in your Cleveland years, you had higher hopes, but you're also a realist. You know where you struggle. You know where your personnel's good.

So your former team Cleveland, I look at Cleveland and I think on the perimeter, corner receiver, I really like them. I think they're defensive front. They spent money. There's some players. But there's a lot of new faces, Hugh Olivier Vernon, Sheldon Richardson, O'Dell Beckham's missed 16 of his last 32. Would you worry about a lot of new faces, some big personalities, and a new head coach? Is it too much? It could be. I mean, obviously, there's a lot of balancing that you have to do in that situation.

When you bring in that many new players who are as talented as those players are, I mean, a lot of those guys are alpha personality. So you have to be ready to balance those particular personalities along with creating the environment for those guys to mesh together and become a really good football team. Jarvis Landry is one of the most underrated receivers in the league. He's not flashy, but it gives you 90 catches.

I know you liked it when he came over from Miami. You got Odell, David & Joku, Nick Chubb. Listen, let's be honest about this. These are alpha males. These are millionaires. And they're young men. That's a lot of mouse to feed. How would you as a coach with all those talented players

is a lot of it just psychology to make sure they're hat? Because there are going to be games. Odell's going to be doubled, Hugh. It's going to get four targets. Right. No, you have to wear that hat. You just said it. I mean, those guys' value is tied to what they do in games, you know,

and how well they play and what they're seen at. So as a coach, you have to put those guys in position to have touches for so many different reasons. One for personal reasons, but the other reason is because they can affect the game and win the game for you. So the strategy of how to do that is going to be so important, you know, for their offensive staff and the head coach. Freddie Kitchens was on your staff. You like him. I don't know much about him. He was a running back coach, a tight-end coach.

What do we know? Well, I think you just said it. I mean, he's been a, you know, he's been a lifelong assistant coach. And again, head coach has come in all different shapes and sizes. I get it, especially now in today's national football league. They're coming from all over the place. So we'll know more about what Freddie is once the season. progress. But obviously, you know, he's a talented person. He coached the running backs when I was

there. He'd been at the Cardinals and was a quarterback coach. So he's been around offensive football, been around some good coaches. But we'll be, you know, we'll start to know exactly who he is as this season starts to go. When you, we've got some college guys coming into the NFL and certainly college schematics. But it's still overwhelmingly. I mean, Lamar Jackson won his division. Russell Wilson moves around but has developed into a great pocket passer. Is there within the league a little pushback on college stuff, pro stuff? Because I'm seeing some concepts.

But if Cliff Kingsbury goes 2 and 14, owners look around the league and go, give me my NFL guys. Do you think we'll just keep seeing college stuff, college stuff into the NFL? You know, I think, you know, obviously I think, you know, there's a book that says, who moved my cheese? And I think things are changing somewhat.

You know, when you look across the national football, league, there's more of these young players that are coming in and they're producing and they're having success. So I think, you know, there will be a time where, you know, we'll start to slow down and the old NFL way will catch up. You know, everything kind of goes in cycles. It does. But I really truly believe that, you know, those players, those quarterbacks, especially when you look at the two young men that have just come out of Oklahoma. You know, they've done a tremendous job. Yeah, Baker and Kyler. Absolutely. These guys are going to be two of the better quarterbacks in the league. that's what we're hoping.

So when you look at it, I think things are changing somewhat, but you also still have to have some of that old tried and true national football league flavor in it, too. I pick the Steelers to win the AFC North over Cleveland, and the primary reason was I think Pittsburgh's defensive front will give Cleveland's offensive line, in my opinion, their weakness, the tackle positions in their own line. I think Pittsburgh, I don't like the match up for Cleveland in the trenches. and I do like the Steelers O line, and I do love the Browns D line.

But this league is not a perimeter league. It's one on the interior. Let's talk about Pittsburgh. Very noisy last year. Got away from it. They went and got a corner Steve Nelson from Kansas City. Devin Bush looks to be very good. Mark Barron, they move, you know, he'll be in the box.

He's a big hitter. T.J. Watt can really play. Talk about the Steelers personnel. They didn't win the division last year. I could still make an argument. but it's as good as most personnel in the league. No, it is. I mean, there's no question.

And they're very strategic and the players that they put on their team. You know, when you think of the young player, they drafted linebacker out of Michigan. Devin Bush. I mean, he's going to be phenomenal for him. He's going to give them that dimension that they were missing, you know, when they lost. The rangy linebacker?

Absolutely. Who can go cover any, you know, tight ends and running backs at any time, you know, and he can run and hit. So Pittsburgh, when you think about them, they are still built the way they are. They're going to be very good defensive football team. very, very talented. Obviously, Mike Tomlin has done a great job.

You don't stay there as long as he has and not be very good at what you do. So I still think they're the class of the AFC North, and I think they'll show that. Yeah, we don't talk about offensive lines, but I tell all these Brown fans, that Pittsburgh goal line is about as good as the AFC has. You faced it. There's no doubt. No, they're good. They're good.

And, I mean, obviously, you don't have the production that they've had with the bees, you know, before without that offensive line. I mean, they're good. I want to talk about the running back position, Hugh Jackson, joining us. Analytics are changing sports. I say I like man-a-liletics. I like a little analytics, but I don't want to reduce athletes to numbers. Absolutely.

Because I think it puts your coaches in very difficult spots. You know, when you look at running backs, I'm Jason Garrett. I'm fighting for Zieg. Absolutely. I am fighting. If I'm Anthony Lynn, I'm fighting for Melvin Gordon. Absolutely. Do you worry about analytics and football moving away from the running game and that some of those numbers and data as a coach, you just need stars.

You need players. Like if you're in Dallas, how do you reconcile the numbers say, pay Zeeke this and take me there? Well, I think you said it. I think the numbers are saying one thing, but the algorithm of a coach is saying a whole different thing because we know. We know what it's going to take week in and week out to produce a winner. on offense and on defense, and we know what those players look like and what they play like.

Numbers are just numbers, and it's who's putting in those numbers? And what kind of numbers are you putting in to get this information? Because at the end of the day, this is still about winning and losing. It's not about anything else, you know? So if it's about winning and losing,

I'm going to trust my coaches, first and foremost. The numbers might help inform me of certain things that we can do better, but at the end of the day, I have to trust what the coaches know and what they see. You know, I've been critical of Baker Mayfield.

I think he's a talented kid. I'm not into noisy quarterbacks. It's just my personal taste. My dad was kind of a conservative business guy, right? So that's the environment I was in, emotional discipline. You know, put your money away. I tend to like the Russell Wilson, the goff. I mean, golf's in L.A. I've never seen him.

Brady, Breeze, Andrew Luck. I think Mahomes has a lot of that. He's fun, but he's all football. Baker, and you've had your run in there. Baker's a lot of noise and a lot of stuff. I think I'm being very realistic saying, I just wonder how it plays for 12 years. Is that a legitimate concern?

I think it is. You know, obviously, he's a good football player. I think we all agree with that, you know, and everybody handles things and do things differently, you know, and he's going to have to figure out what's going to be the best way for him moving forward to be what I truly believe he wants to be, which is one of the better players in the league.

I think you said it. You haven't seen a lot of. of players probably handle things the way he has. And become that. Absolutely. And I think he'll learn as he goes. You know, I think he'll be willing to learn because this league will humble you.

You know, he just will. It's what it does. You know, I always say, quarterbacks truly should start on their knees because this league will bring you to your knees. So you will learn very quickly and he will,

just as anybody who are like that, that there are certain things that happen in this league that you have to really adhere to. And I think Baker will figure that out. You know, you didn't have a winning record in Cleveland, but you know, you also didn't have a ton of personnel. The quarterback situation was, you know, that's the league. Herm Edwards always says, yeah, I'd be in the league if you gave me, you know, if you have the star quarterback. He had Chad Pennington who got hurt and there goes, Herm becomes a broadcaster.

When you go into a season now, does a coach have a sense? Now, you obviously have to sell to the troops. We're going to win Sunday. Absolutely. But do you know as a coach? Do you think there's seven, eight coaches in this league know that they're crossing their fingers here. Like they just know their personnel doesn't match up. Absolutely.

You know. Because if you are an experienced coach who's coached in the league, you know what it takes to win and lose. But you can't stand in front of the troops and say, we don't have a chance. You have to go week in and week out and give them everything you have to give them the best opportunity to have success. And I think the players really appreciate that. There's veteran players that know, you know, truly. might not have a chance here. But their job, your job, when you sign up for it, is to be the best you can be.

And that's all you can do. But if there are some coaches that I know that probably know that their teams are going to struggle, absolutely. Hugh, I've said there are college, there are NFL coaches that I believe could flourish at the college level. I've said this. Bill Parcells would not deal with boosters. I don't think he'd be a successful college coach. And then there are college guys, I think. Brian Kelly could probably go to the NFL and win some games.

James, and I'll ask you this again, you're going to miss Sundays. Would you ever coach on Saturdays? Oh, absolutely. I would. I've had an opportunity to spend some time at the University of Maryland with Mike Loxley, who I think is a tremendous football coach. I think he's going to do a great job there. And I was really impressed, you know, just by the structure and what that looked like,

because I've been out of it for so long. So there was an itch a little bit. Sure. And it was fun to see, you know, and being able to compare it to the national football game. Well, Herm Edwards is your friend. I mean, I talked to her last week. Yeah. He's having a real good time.

Yes, they are. So, again, I mean, it's coaching, you know, so if an opportunity would present itself, there's no question I would definitely look at it. Is there any high like Sunday in the NFL? No. There's not. I mean, game day is unbelievable. You know, the smell of the grass, the fans being outside, all the pre-game parties that are going on and watching the players walk into the locker room with a, what a true belief that we're going to defend our turf today.

There's just nothing like it. It's great seeing you. You too. Hugh Jackson. By the way, competing today takes tremendous toughness. MDrive, use it every day. MDrive from N.com today. The code is Heard.

Refind Your Prime. Joy Taylor with the News. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. So the two big running back holdouts of the preseason, Zeke still kind of in motion, waiting for news on that. And Melvin Gordon seems to have an answer.

He does not plan to report for the charges for week one. They have confirmed the charges that they will not continue contract talks with Melvin Gordon until after the 2019 season and are now allowing him to seek a trade. And head coach Anthony Lynn is ready to get on with the regular season. My concern right now is all Indianapolis right now. We talked about that for a long time and now I'm just ready to move on. We're playing games. He's over that.

Well, I mean, from the head coach's standpoint, anytime there's a holdout, it's really not something he's concerned about. And to their credit, they should not be concerned about that. There are other people who are paid to worry about the money and negotiations and who's going to be there or not and fit under the salary cap. They have to worry about the actual personnel that they may or may not have on week one. Like, he, I'm sure, is concerned and having conversations about is he going to be here? But he's got to work with what he's got. And if he's not going to be there, he's going to make. He's going to make it work.

It's not his job to figure those contract situations out. They have Austin Echler and Justin Jackson. This sucks. This is not an ideal situation for the Chargers on either side. On Melvin Gordon side or for the Chargers. No disrespect to the guys that they have there, but Melvin Gordon is the top running back in the league. Russell O'Coon, Derwin James.

Those are good players. Russell O'Koon's probably their best alignment. Derwin James is their best athlete defensively. They've been good when Bose has been healthy, so you cross your fingers there. But they've got, listen, I talked to their GM over the weekend. It's like, listen, this week's tough, man. Twisted ankle, you're not the same defense. Contract holdout, you're not the same

on. This is a hard league. There's always something. So they have an offensive line issue right now. The best defensive players out. I mean, Dernwin J's is that talented, Melvin Gordon. Now, the question becomes, Austin Echler, twists and ankle week one. Right. Maybe you want to revisit that contract talk. Yeah, maybe back off the hard stance that they're not having that conversation during the year. Now, obviously, you don't want to continue to have that conversation. once the regular season goes on because you don't want to have any distractions from someone who is not there. And listen, I understand where all these running backs are coming from.

They want security and they want to be paid. And, you know, he deserves to be paid. He's his fifth-year option making 5.6 if he shows up and he's looking to get 13. So that's a dramatic difference. It's not like they're bickering over a million dollars here. But, you know, a lot of this comes down to Todd Gurley's contract and Levy on Bell's contract. They're the two top paid in the league. And it seems, teams are not willing to go there, although we'll see what happens with Zeke.

but I just don't like it because I think the Chargers have like all teams in the NFL, mostly all teams in the NFL. They have a small window of are they going to be able to make a championship and have the personnel to win a championship? And sometimes I think you just have to pay him. So the Dolphins traded left tackle, Laramie Tunsell and wide receiver, Kenny Seals to the Texans. They got two first round picks and one second round pick in return,

which sparked some more rumors. The Dolphins will be tanking in 2019, but head coach Brian Thoris insists that they are not taking. and they don't want to lose on purpose. This game needs a lot to me, so I wouldn't disrespect the game with that. And that's, again, no, we're not. We're going to try to win every game. Well.

Doesn't mean the front office is aligned with that. Josh Rosen now doesn't have their best receiver and their left tackle? It's the worst situation ever for Josh Rosen. I really feel for him. You can't evaluate him as an NFL quarterback based off of the two locations that he's been out and the front office decisions that he's had to deal with. So that to me is just a side unfortunate story to this. Tanking is the bane of my existence.

It vexes me for so many reasons. First and foremost, I don't believe that you create a winning culture by creating a losing culture. Yeah, I don't like that. That's one of the things that doesn't get talked about. What free agent wants to go to a losing culture? I mean, free agents is just the beginning of it. Like, that's obviously a huge factor. But aside from free agents, you are teaching and growing a young organization,

obviously because you got a bazillion picks that we're okay with putting not a good product on the field to try and get better product and then once the new guys come in we're going to flip a switch, we're going to change the mentality we had last year. Everybody just forget everything that happened last year. Now we're champions. This is how we do things around here. And that's not how it works.

You have to stay afloat. You have to keep pieces there together and keep talent there and build on that. I understand that you want to try and get the top quarterback. Then make some trades. aggressive in the draft. Celtics actually did the best job of it. They, Celtics were a bottom tier Eastern playoff team, competitive.

So at least when you call guys and their agents are like, oh, they get to the playoffs. I mean, Boston, now Boston may not win championships, but they rebuilt and were never unwatchable. They just had a good coach in Brad Stevens who made Isaiah Thomas like the best he's ever been. That's how

you, to me, if you can get the right coach that can elevate your players, Celtics did it the way sports should do it. Right. And I'm not saying, don't believe in Brian Flores, I do. And to be honest, I have no knowledge of this, but I doubt this was something that he was behind. Like, he wants to put the best product on the field as a coach, I'm sure. Because at the end of the day, that that record is his.

Like, he's going to have to walk away eventually from the game with that record that was probably put on him by the front office. So I don't love it. Jaylen Hertz made his Oklahoma debut against Houston on Sunday. He had an incredible night, 508 total yards, six touchdowns, and the Sooners won 49 to 31. Hertz had more yards in his first game with Oklahoma than Kyla Murray had in any game last season. Tyler Peaks with 478 yards against West Virginia. And Jalen also shattered Baker Mayfield's record of 396 total yards in a sooner debut. Yeah, he was good.

He was really good. Good after the game. Good during the game. Lincoln Riley's kind of, he's kind of figured out the quarterback position. At least for college. I think the jury is still out. How this is going to play out in the NFL, I think, as far as, you know, what he's developed. but I mean, Reggie was talking about it earlier.

Sometimes you just get better coaching in college. It's totally possible. Yeah. I just think that it's a good story for college football that Jaylen Hertz comes out the first week and has a game like this. And like, everyone's rooting for this guy. It's a good situation. I also think Oklahoma's probably the best long shot in the country to win the national championship.

Like, we all know the top four or five teams. If there was a long shot, if you have a great coach and a really good quarterback at the college level, And the Oklahoma's got all sorts of talent. Oklahoma's going to be an interesting long shot. Boy, that Oklahoma Texas game this year, Texas this weekend actually plays LSU. So we'll find out a lot about Texas this weekend. Good stuff, joy of the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Coming up, you've seen that show Stranger Things. We have... Love Stranger Things. Yes, very quirky. I caught into it late, then played catch-up.

Stranger NFL things. Things about the NFL that you'll find hard to fathom, but they're factually, absolutely true, and they're important to know coming into this season. That is coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, Keir Gaines, is we have real. conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free I Heart Radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam?

It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying 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 Reid. 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 Nash will get that thing, that man, hell get to fly, he running up the court, licking his fingers why 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I just saw the most amazing video ever. I'm not going to say it. We'll say it before the end of the show. Okay. You saw it too? I did. Yes. It's dramatic.

Nobody gets hurt. No, but it's terrifying. Okay. Don't go anywhere. In fact, if I have to, I'll just put my phone up and you can do a tight shot on my phone. That's really 2019 television. Okay, so Joy and I like this show called Stranger Things. And we thought today we would present as the NFL season starts in a couple days on Tuesday. Great opener, by the way, Green Beach, Chicago. Lord, that's good. Stranger NFL things. These are things that are true that are really hard to believe, like bizarrely hard to believe.

So what order do you guys want to go in? Okay, let's do you want to do number one. Let's do number one. The five teams that beat the Super Bowl champion Patriots last year, none of them made the playoffs. Isn't that bizarre? So beating New England, pound your chest, doesn't mean squat. Jags beat them, lions beat them, Titans beat them, dolphins beat them, and Steelers beat them.

None of the five made the playoffs. So I know they're going to lose three or four games this year. Don't go crazy. It doesn't mean anything. Number two, the NFC East has not had a repeat division winner in 15 years. Isn't that crazy? you've had multiple Super Bowl champs. Yeah, I mean, that just shows how competitive that division is.

So the Cowboys won it last year. I'm picking the Eagles to win it this year. So, I mean, again, the Eagles have won a Super Bowl, the Giants have won a couple of Super Bowls, Redskins have won the division a few times. That is a bizarre, bizarre coincidence. How about this? Second most wins in the NFL in three years is Dak Press.

For all the criticism. Now, you guys keep telling me that Jason Garrett can't coach. Well, and that Dak Prescott's no good. You cannot be the second winningest team in the league if one of those guys isn't at least a B. And probably a B plus. By the way, number one is Aaron Rogers with 35. Dak's right behind him with 32. And I think Big Ben's right behind them.

So, no, it's Brady. Brady has 35. DAC has 32. The third is, I think it's a playoff team generally. How about this? Stranger NFL things. In a passing league, the passing yards leader has never won the Super Bowl. Again, what? So, by the way, last year, Big Ben lend the NFL in passing yards.

Brady made it in 2017, but he lost the Super Bowl. So again, what does that mean? Does it mean that you are too pass-centric, too reliant on the big play, too reliant on speed receivers on the perimeter, which, as we know in December and January, that can dry up. But the passing yards leader at quarterback has never won a Super Bowl. That's not good news for Patrick Mahomes, because I keep thinking. It should be noted, though, when Kareem Hunt left,

they weren't quite as formidable offensively because Andy likes to run the football too. Stranger NFL things. How about this? Since 1981, every Super Bowl winner has had a winning record through six games. So three and three will not do. So even though this is a long season, when you get through six games, you've got to have at least four wins. Now, September isn't everything, but you better not start 0 and 3 or 0.2. That's interesting.

Yeah, you got to have a winning record. So generally what it's telling you is through a third of the season, things that are inarguable are being established. Like we can't protect the quarterback. We can't get after their quarterback. So New England's had chopy Septembers, but through six, they always have a winning record. Stranger NFL things. Number two, all-time completion percentage. History of the league is Kirk Cousins.

I got nothing. I don't understand it. Well, he is accurate. And I think this is where you know when you have Kirk Cousins, he completes passes. There's a guy in the league that says this to me a lot. Kirk is great unless he has to carry you against the great team. If you're just asking him to move the chains, Kirk can do it. But when you face those better pass rushes and better coach defenses,

and it's like, okay, Kurt, team shoulders carry us. They're like, that's not what he is. He's not a big arm guy. He's not a mobile guy. limitations athletically and there's limitations arm. But he is second all time to Drew Breeze. Yeah, that's the problem though. Nobody's asking him to just move the change.

Well, yeah, $28 million, you're asking him twice a game to make a play that a special player makes. Number seven, Stranger NFL Things. The Browns haven't won a week one game in 14 years. That is,

now they are a five and a half point favorite it over a team, I think, is really tasty, the Tennessee Titans. You love that bet so much. Well, we'll see if it makes the Blazing Five. I think, here's my thing on Cleveland. I don't like their offensive line, and I really don't like their tackles. And they traded away their right guard to the New York Giants, and I didn't like it at all.

Their best offensive linemen is their center and their left guard. And if one of those two guys gets heard, they're not good at tackle. and left tackle has become a liability. And Pittsburgh, by the way, has just added guys that can rush the passer. That's why I like Pittsburgh to win the AFC North is, I think their defensive line in the two meetings with Cleveland is going

to control the game against Cleveland's offensive line, which a tackle on the edge is just not good. That has been stranger NFL things. I like that. Kind of bizarre stuff. So,

yeah, we've got, there are reports today that Zieg is getting a new deal with the Dallas Cowboys. It cannot be confirmed, so we're not going to confirm it. It is in the $15 million a year area, which is a little less than he wanted, a little less and a little more than Dallas wanted. So, you know, he's making a demand, and they've got enough money this year for Zique. The question's always going to be down the line. Can they keep Byron Jones the corner? They just re-signed the right tackle, Lail Collins, so that's an expensive offensive line.

The Saints and the Cowboys, I think the Eagles, they spend a lot of money on their offensive line. I do worry about Dallas. All we've talked about this offseason is money and contracts and contracts and money and who's getting that. I just saw, it's people like Dallas, though. I just saw somebody I respect pick Cowboys to win the Super Bowl. he's a newspaper guy out east and I'm like, I don't see it.

But I would say there are about eight to ten teams that I think are capable of it. Now, again, they may need a break. They may need to stay healthy. I think Dallas is probably in that group, my lower end. I think the group I've listed mostly is Kansas City, Pittsburgh, New England, Chargers, Eagles, Rams, Texas. I think I probably put the Cowboys in there. I could be missing out on Green Bay. So I got about eight and nine teams.

And then I think there's a couple on the periphery would need like real breaks, like bizarrely healthy. Somebody in their division goes down. I had Indianapolis. Oh, that's why I had Indianapolis in that group and they're no longer in that group. So I'm not sure what to do with the Chargers. So Derwin James is out for a while and Melvin Gordon's out. and Russell O'Coon they have health issues with.

So they're secondary, their O-Line, and their running backs. They're just not as good. I don't think Kansas City's going to slide back. I think Kansas City is absolutely fantastic. And we're getting ready for Thursday. I also thought it was a very interesting college football weekend. Jalen Hertz to Oklahoma looked absolutely unbelievable. And I got to tell you, I know nobody likes Brian Kelly.

Like, I get it. But I'm watching Notre Dame last night. Notre Dame was a hot mess in that first quarter. Then in the second quarter, they made some adjustments. In the second half, Notre Dame was excellent, excellent, and pounded Louisville. That was a road opener. You don't have a preseason. I know nobody likes Brian Kelly because he's grumpy and his heads turns orange and he screams at people.

But this is an academic power. It is a small private school with a religious, overtures and classes. It is not easy. We have somebody on our staff that went to Notre Dame. The weather is a real thing. Brian Kelly may not be relatable and you don't want to put your arms around him. Notre Dame football makes absolutely elite adjustments.

Well, they got blown out by Clemson by 27 last year. Bama got beat by 28. Clemson blew out everybody once Trevor Lawrence was healthy except Syracuse. So as much as we all bang on Brian Kelly, I don't give a rip if you like somebody. Can they coach? For Notre Dame to win 13 games last year, this is a small private school.

I don't think red shirting is rare. Junior college players, no. It's academically tough in the middle of nowhere with lousy weather. It's, you know, Notre Dame Catholic. It's got religious classes. It's hard. It's hard to get an easy schedule at Notre Dame. Other powers can do this in sports.

So I watched Notre Dame last night, and I'm like, they're just well-coached. They're not always the most talented team. They have NFL players. I'll say another thing about Notre Dame. Their players get better. And I watch teams this weekend. Florida State couldn't make adjustments. Oregon couldn't make adjustments.

Tennessee couldn't make adjustments. USC-1 does not make adjustments. Most college programs are not great at that. They have a game plan. Like the coach can recruit, and they can design a game plan. And then when it goes, exit stage right, they're like, and we'll try to figure it out next week. Not Notre Dame.

They go into the locker room. They come out. They look great in the second half last night. And that is rare in college football. So Brian Kelly may not float your boat. I think he's good. See you tomorrow. One more herd?

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