The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Jon Gruden, Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick, and Nick Saban

Episode Date: September 4, 2018

Colin discusses Raiders HC Jon Gruden's decision to trade LB Khalil Mack, Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh failing on the big stage, Nike's decision to support FA QB Colin Kaepernick, and Alabama HC Nick Saban overreacting to a simple question about his Quarterbacks. Guests include LaDainian Tomlinson, Joel Klatt, Greg Jennings, and Peter Schrager. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Radio. Ah, on a Tuesday, this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me on the start of football season. We are ready. She just put her glasses on because she's getting serious. I am getting serious. They cleaned them for me, so. Very nice. Studious, academic. That's what we do here. It is great to have you in. I don't remember a show where I drove to work in the morning, and I don't even think I needed prep. I could have just talked. So let me start with this. The Raiders traded Khalil Mack. Kalil Mack is everything you're trying to find in the NFL. Every single person in the NFL is trying to find basically the same thing. A great player

who plays in a really important position that's a great guy in the locker room. And the Raiders had it and gave him up because, you know, he was really expensive. Dude, so was Filet Mignon. So is a Mercedes-Benz. So is staying at the Ritz Carlton. Like, you got to get comfortable with that, right? I understand if the Raiders didn't have a star quarterback. And they thought to themselves, oh, Lord, we got to give up this defensive guy,

get a bunch of picks to get a quarterback. But they do. They have Derek Carr. I would get if the Raiders didn't have somebody to protect their quarterback, their offensive linemen. And they said, you know what? We got a quarterback. We got to protect him.

And we're going to give up this great player to get it. But time out. The Raiders do have a great quarterback, and they do have a good offensive line. So the next thing the Raiders would want is a great pass rusher. And they gave him up. What are you doing? Uncle Collins three rules of football. It's not real complicated.

Number one, get a good quarterback. Number two, get people who can protect your quarterback. And number three, get to the other. team's quarterback. They've already got one and two. Do you know what they're going to do with those two draft picks they got, Joy? Try to find the next Khalil Mack. And they won't because he's a once-in-a-franchise player.

There are no Lawrence Taylor's for the New York Giants. They're never going to find another one. Denver's never going to get a John Elway. It's never going to find him. It doesn't work that. There's going to be no next Dion Sanders, the greatest, cornerback of all time. This morning, I went and looked at the last 14 years of the Raiders first round

picks. One great player, Khalil Mack. Hey, but you got two first round picks where you could hopefully find, oh, crap, that won't happen. Man, don't outthink the room. If you, think about this, if you get a job and it pays well, okay, check. and your boss is really cool. Check.

And it's in a great city. Check. You don't leave that job. Those are the three checks you're looking for. It pays. Your boss is cool. And it's in a great city. If you get into a relationship, man or a woman,

and they're really fun to hang out with. And your friends and parents like them. And you're really attracted to them. you don't break that up you don't move out of that relationship you go buy her a big ring yeah i said it you do come on now man this is football the whole game in footballs find a quarterback protect a quarterback and then get people who get their quarterback you got to figure that out this is not complicated and don't get me wrong i understand it's really expensive but as i get older there are just certain things you can't be cheap on you can't be cheap on you can't be cheap on

transportation. You can't be cheap on toilet paper. Just spend the extra money. Trust me. Don't be cheap with NFL superstars because you get about two a draft. You get about two a draft. And I may be hyperventilating. It may be one. And you let him walk out. I'll say it again. I just don't get the John Gruden thing. I just don't get it. Had him, let him leave. Big mistake. All right, let me transition to this. I used to live in Portland, Oregon. That's a fine city in Portland, Oregon. And do you know what the biggest company in Portland, Oregon is?

Well, it's Nike. So I know a lot of people that worked at Nike. I've read a couple of books about Nike, and Nike yesterday did something. Nike does all the time. They had a print ad for Colin Kaepernick. Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. A lot of people this morning are going to burn their Nike. Nike shoes. Other people are going to run out and buy more Nike's. I'm not going to do it either.

That's not really my personality. But can I remind you certain people are comfortable with discomfort? Remember when Tiger Woods got into trouble? Remember that story? Woo, that was controversial. Gatorade said, no, thank you. We're out. Jolette said, no thank you. We're out. Buick said no thank you. We're out. AT&T said, no thank you, Tiger. We're out. You know who stayed with Tiger? Nike. They're comfortable with discomfort. Nike actually left golf, but they stayed and backed Tiger Woods. Nike's slogan is, just do it. It's not. Just be careful. Just be cautious. Just don't offend anybody.

Just don't make a move that hurts for a couple of days. The stock price. Nike's slogan is, just do it. Just do it. All chips, center of the table, piss some people off, make some others happy. Some will burn socks. Some will buy shoes. It should be noted that many of you won't remember this,

but I'm old enough to remember when Nike did this ad, and it was for a decade, and I am not exaggerating. For a decade, the most controversial spot in America. I am not a role model. I'm not paid to be a role model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. You think Kaepernick's print ad is controversial? Joy is my witness, and she's younger than I am,

That Barkley spot was the most discussed commercial in America, not for a month and not for a year. Four years. Nike is since then 17 times larger. Their market cap is. They survived. Nike also had a bit of controversy with Jordan when his shoes first came out as well. They're not new to controversy. By the way, when I got into this business, my late mother once went on the internet.

And she said, people hate you. And I said, mm-hmm. And I'm comfortable with that. And so is Kanye West and Howard Stern and Rachel Maddow and Rush Limbaugh and the Kardashians and our president. Some people are built to withstand discomfort. Some companies are built to withstand discomfort. Nike executives did research, sat in a room. This would not work at IBM.

But in Nike, they've been just doing this, not just doing it. They've been doing this for years. During Kobe's Colorado trial, Sprite bailed on Kobe. McDonald's bailed on Kobe. Nike did not. this to me is not really about cap it's about business and i've always been fond of Nike not just because they were the biggest company and many of my friends work there but i've watched companies cave bosses cave people cave because they're afraid of the

pushback Nike never is and i applaud any company that can withstand the heat have a belief system that makes people uncomfortable regularly. More than ever, we need that. Their slogan is not just be cautious and just be timid. It's poker chips all in. Just do it. And they stood behind Tiger and they stood behind Kobe. And they're standing behind another polarizing guy, Colin Kaepernick. I won't burn my shoes, nor will I buy new ones. But I can appreciate people who take stands, deal with blowback, and wake up the next morning feeling stronger than never. Good to have you in today. It is an absolute pleasure. I know what many of you are saying, Hey, cowherd, you were wrong on Jim Harbaugh. In your face, you wrong sportscaster.

So I will address that where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, at the top of next hour. Ladanyan Tomlinson, Joel Clack, Greg Jennings, Peter Schrager. We got a football game Thursday that is out of this world. Probably the best Thursday night football game ever. Just happens to be on this network. That's coming up. When it comes to comfort down below, there's underwear and then there's Tommy John. The revolutionary clothing brand redefined comfort for Americans everywhere, including me.

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When shopping for her car insurance, consider Geico.com 75 years. They know how to save you money. If you're serious about savings, go to Geico.com. Everybody knows I like Jim Harbaugh. I think he's difficult. I think he's rough, but I think he's a really good football coach. I have a resume that shows he won national titles at the mid-major. He was great at San Diego.

He was great at San Francisco 49ers. He's very good at Michigan. Saturday night was bad. No, he deserves to be criticized on every show. Because once you pay people, the kind of money Harbaugh makes, and once you go out sort of flexing your muscles, showing everybody how great Michigan is and promoting yourself,

the standards change. Listen, if you pay a supermodel $10 million, she can't during fashion week in Paris or New York City trip going down the runway. By the way, if she does trip, she still has perfect skin. She's still stunning. She clothes still look great on her.

Other women probably say, oh my God, she is amazing. But you can't trip and fall on the runway at $10 million a year. You can't as a model. You can't as a supermodel. Jim Harbaugh's resume is still fantastic. He's 28 and 12 at Michigan, and that's his big failure. Think about that.

His big failure is he's 28 and 12 at Michigan. But Saturday night, he fell on stage. Jim Harbaugh's a tough guy. That offensive line was. soft and pushed around by Notre Dame for three and a half hours. He's a former quarterback. He finally got his great quarterback. And yet they couldn't move the ball.

Michigan average like 1.8 yards of carry. Pushed around by Notre Dame. Listen, Jim Harbaugh, when he came to Michigan, got the biggest salary in the sport and has done nothing. And I've supported him on promoting Michigan and himself. But that's the kind of law. that leaves a mark. If you're going to get the big paycheck,

you can't trip during fashion week. I've said this about my business. You want the big paycheck on this business? You're going to get some blowback. Can't handle it? Don't take the check. Don't get the corner office. It's rough.

People are vile. Social media is mean. But that was bad. That leaves a mark. And the first thing I actually thought when I watched the game joy, I thought to myself, Jim Harbaugh has been very good at building programs. back up, and then at the first opportunity, not even pausing and leaving.

And I look around and Cincinnati Bengals may need a coach and the Cleveland Browns may need to coach, and the Miami Dolphins may need a coach, and the Denver Broncos may need to coach, and my takeaway is, those places are all going to call Jim Harbaugh. The question is, is Harbaugh finished at Michigan? Because they're not going to fire him. He's going to rattle off five straight wins until they play Wisconsin, and that's going to be a Barnburner. He's still 28 and 12 in conference, or overall 18 and 8 in conference, but he's lost four straight. And it's not just that he lost. It is how they lost. That was ugly. That was

embarrassing. There was a huge TV rating for that game. So a lot of people watched it, including NFL people watched it. There's two arguments here. Don't tell me the guy can't coach. I got resume he can coach. Don't tell me the supermodel is not beautiful. She's still beautiful. I know. That's why she got $10 million. They just don't hand that out at colleges. They just don't hand that out to models. A lot of attractive people, a lot of good football coaches. The resume is still the resume, but you're sitting in that chair. That can't be what the first game of your fourth year looks like. That can't be what it looks like. Yeah, and he's not making $10 million either. By the way, Belichick was fired in Cleveland.

Pete Carroll was fired twice in the NFL. Nick Saban bombed in the NFL. Joe Tori was fired three times. Everybody likes Mike Dan Tony. He was fired a couple times. Good coaches get fired. Jim Harbaugh is not the first really good coach to have troubles. And he hasn't even been fired yet.

You know, it's like actors. It's not like you have good movie, better movie, great movie, greatest movie. No, no, no, no. There's bumps in the road, even for Belichick. there's bumps in the road for everybody. Nick Saban had a bad weekend. Well, I mean, good on the field, bad off it. But that can't be what it looks like.

First game, big rival, year four. That is falling down the runway and rolling into the crowd. Like, that's not acceptable. I may be misquoting you, but didn't you call this a must win for it? I called it a must win. And I also, what I didn't call it, but I should have, a must not look like that. because that was terrible. Joy Taylor with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, we finally have an answer. Nick Foles has officially been named the Eagle Starter for week one. After being combative and not divulging who would start on Sunday, Doug Peterson had this to say when delivering the news on Monday. After consideration and everything and about the football team and this decision,

Nick Foles is a starter Week 1 My press conference will be tomorrow and I'll answer questions at that time but I wanted you to hear it from me It is about the football team and the best interest of the 53 and Nick Foles will be my starter

week one. Thank you. By the way, it's interesting the season isn't starting quite like the Super Bowl champs thought the season would start, is it? I mean look, first of all, it's so funny how they're handling this. If he's not cleared to play, he's not clear to play. Just say that. It's not like it's going to be a shock to everyone. He's coming back off of a major injury.

That's why you kept Nick Foles. Just say that he's not ready. Eight teams made the playoffs last year that didn't make the playoffs the previous year. In the last two decades, it's never been fewer than four. All I'm telling you is there's this sense in Philadelphia. They got coaches writing a buck and we got banners up and everybody's calling everybody out. They are now the target in the league. They don't have their star quarterback ready.

They've been banged up in the preseason. The Giants are way better. Dallas is better and Alex Smith is in the division and you got guys like Aaron Rogers back and it's just very interesting. It wasn't that long ago that guys in Philadelphia

were getting home at 4 in the morning because they were out partying and celebrating the Eagles Super Bowl win the season is here and you don't have Carson Wentz. No, but it shouldn't be a huge surprise that Carson Wentz isn't ready. He had a major injury towards the end of the season last year. He's not ready. It's almost like Doug Peterson handled this like some sort of controversy or something. Like, oh, Nick Foles is going to beat out Carson Wentz from the starting position.

No, no one believes that. Nick Foles is the backup. He did a great job. There's no denying that. Maybe an all-time job as a backup to step in and do that and be a Super Bowl MVP. But he's not going to be the quarterback of the future. It's okay. Carson Wentz isn't ready. It's all right, guys. This whole thing with quarterbacks this weekend. Sabin. Coaches get very rigid. Very sensitive.

Coaches get so rigid about it and it's like, what do you think we're going to ask you? Yes, you're going to get that question every day until Carson Wentz comes back. By the way, I come home every day from work and my wife asked me the same question and I'm prepared for it. She goes, how was work today? Half the time I'm not interested in talking about it. But there's no reason to start a fight if Maria Taylor asked you a question or a reporter asked you a question. You know when I walk in every day at home, how was work today? I'm prepared for it.

You know when you should start a fight? When she doesn't care how your day at work was. Or she goes, how was work today? Bob and she calls me the wrong name. Then we got a problem. Exactly. So Bet Online has released their latest regular season NFL MVP award and Aaron Rogers is now the favorite with Tom Brady having the next best odds and Carson Wentz

having the third best odds. Carson Wentz, to me, is probably going to be out of it just because he's not going to, we don't know how many games he's going to miss. So it's actually kind of high to me. And Tom Brady, I don't know about that one. I think we kind of, we kind of, I just don't see him winning back-to-back MVP's. But I think to Sean Watson really should be higher than that. I would actually, I'm, you know, this is the year.

Atlanta thinks I hate the Falcons. I'm going to go Matt Ryan. This is my year of the Falcons. I'll explain that later, maybe tomorrow on the show. I have Atlanta getting to the NFC championship. And I know everybody thinks I don't like Matt Ryan and I don't like the Falcons, but I have reasoning.

I have the Steelers in Atlanta in the Super Bowl for the exact same reason. So I'll take Matt Ryan to win it. Yeah. But Aaron Rogers is obviously, he'll be great. He's the obvious number one. Yeah. So finally, the Levy on Bell situation in Pittsburgh

took a twist on Monday. He didn't show up for practice. And if you think his absence is a distraction for the team, Cam Hayward and Raymond Foster are here to tell you otherwise. It doesn't stop or deter what we want to do as a team, not just on defense, but we want to win every game. We want to win a Super Bowl. If he's along for the ride, he's a long for the ride. But until he gets here, I worry about the guys in Lockwood.

With James, I think we'll be fine either way. He's a guy that's worth his butt on. He's a guy that's made his straws. He's made us confident in him. So, you know, he gets the start. We roll with him. It's just where we have to be at. being, stay clean.

It may not be a distraction to the rest of the team, but it's definitely a distraction for the coaches. I do think the Steelers are uniquely accustomed to this. They've got a lot of talkers. They do. Ben, Ben is screaming at Todd Haley, and they, yeah, I mean, I just kind of think certain, you know,

I started the show saying certain companies are very comfortable with discomfort, like Nike. Certain football teams have just been noisy for years like Pittsburgh. Yeah. And they're okay with it. It doesn't unravel them. They're accustomed to this sort of noise around this time of the year. It's strange to me that they haven't been able to sort it out with Levion.

That to me is weird. But they're just going to keep moving forward like they always have. But speaking of Ben and Todd Haley, after seeing hard knocks, isn't it? It kind of makes a little more sense now with the two of them. But it heads a little bit. It does. Joy Taylor with the news. And with that, he's a Hall of Famer.

I remember saying this years ago, probably about, 10 years ago. I got into a topic when I worked at the other place. And I said, we were talking about the best positional players. And I said, I think the best football players in the world right now are Ray Lewis on defense and Ladani and Tomlinson on offense. Great runner. Could catch, could block, never hurt,

didn't fumble, great teammate. Always available on Sunday. A multiple time pro bowler, Hall of Famer in 2017. Let's bring in LT to the show. It is great to have him on. And by the way, you know what I'm thinking this morning? When I'm driving to work and I'm seeing John Gruden, LeDhanian, seeing John Gruden say, no, we're going to move on and get draft picks.

And my takeaway is, okay, John Gruden is sort of an emperor. Even Belichick has to answer to Kraft. Nick Sabin had to answer to the media. Gruden now doesn't answer to anybody. He's got more power. The owner gave him a 10-year contract. So even if the owner gave John crap, he'd be like, you owe me $100 million. I think they've almost given Gruden too much power.

That's what it feels like to me. It's about him. It's about him. It's about him. And you need players to win games. And he's going to find that out very quickly. And, you know, what happened to the days of drafting a guy, developing the guy to be the best guy, a player in the National Football League, and then paying that guy? What happened to those days?

All of a sudden, you know, you switch coaches and you have no dialogue. If that was the quarterback, if it was Derek Carr, John Gruden would have reached out to him immediately and said, hey, new coach now, come talk to me. This is your best player we're talking about. How do you not reach out to him and say, hey, let's start a dialogue. What are the issues? How can I help you? We want you to be here for a long time.

You don't even call the guy? By the way, the Rams with Aaron Donald were reportedly talking to his people or Aaron every day. Like the Rams were like, we know it looks bad in the press, but apparently according to reports I read this weekend, the Rams were in constant communication with Aaron Donald. It sounds like Gruden was, there was no communication. And I wonder how it plays in the locker room. Listen, I wouldn't pay every defensive player a lot of money. It's an offensive league. I've always said for years and years, I wouldn't pay wide receivers too much money.

money, it's a perimeter player. I like around the football. Further you get from the football, I don't want to pay guys. But once you get the quarterback right and the offensive line right, generally NFL teams are looking for pass rushers. I mean, Khalil Mack to me is a once-in-a-decade guy. You'll never get another. I mean, I could say this.

The Raiders will never have a pass-rusher as talented as Kalil Mack for a decade. The guy made the all-pro team in both positions. Like, when has that ever been done? Are you kidding me? And he stabilizes every. think on that defense. You close out games in the fourth quarter with pass rushers. We did it. My time with the Chargers, even my time with the Jets, we had pass rushers that closed out games for us. And who else do they have? I can't answer that question. Who was the other

pass rusher on that team besides Bruce Irvin? Bruce Irvin. Okay. Okay. He's going to have to have a hell of a year. Okay. So you played with the Chargers and the Jets. Sam Darnold was named starting quarterback for the Jets. And we were talking amongst ourselves this morning, and I said this, Ladanyan, guys that have succeeded in New York, think about this, Jeter, Eli, Phil Sims, Aaron Judge. And I start naming guy, Mariano Rivera. What?

In a city that generates its own energy and excitement, they're able to say, I don't need that. When a city provides excitement, New York, Miami, New Orleans. I need a grown-up that can handle that. To me, it's not about Sam Darnold's arm. It's not about his college career. I think he fits

New York City. He's a grown-up. He'll handle... On his 21st birthday, he's like, I didn't drink a beer I had practiced the next day. You played in New York. So you were a veteran by that time. Yeah. But did you watch some players unravel in New York? Absolutely. I mean, because of the

bright lights. And New York City is the mecca of sports. Every athlete, no matter what they tell you, wants to play in New York at one point or another because of the bright lights and everything that goes with it, the media attention. And you're right. Sam Darner is the perfect guy for this. He's an introvert, much like Eli Manning. So nothing will get to them. He's not going to be impressed by going to Broadway plays or going out on the town in New York City.

And he's not going to be impressed by that. But a lot of guys are. Right. You were on a Jets team. Yeah, and it depends on what your values are, what you care about. And to me, even as Sam Darner is going to be the youngest quarterback to ever start for a franchise day one, he's a professional already. And the greatest compliment you can give any players to call him a professional.

And so far, at a young age, he's already considered a pro. It's interesting. Sequin Barkley for the Giants. We're going to see him now. and how you were about in your when you broke into the league what was your size your weight I was 510 and a half 221 okay so and you could take the beating I mean you carry the ball I mean how what your first my first year I had 300 and I think 50 carries or so no turner was offense coordinator oh good Lord so you took a beating and bounced back here's my

concern though and this is interesting Ladanyan because not many people can talk about this. You were the perfect size, size shape. You were hard to get a shot on. Most running backs are not tall. Eric Dickerson's rare. I look at Sequin Barclay. And I don't, I mean, when I watch this video of you right here, I'm like, look at those legs. You were hard to get a shot on. So you could withstand 27 carries. I look at Sequin Barclay. I don't see that. I see a 16 carry. Like, take me to the psychology of taking that 30 carries, that beating, how it wears you down, and how you withstood it. Yeah.

You know, actually, Colin, it becomes a mental game because early in my career, think about my college career. I ran on a perimeter a lot. I wasn't used to running up inside between the tackles. When Marty Schottinheimer got there, his favorite play was power, up the middle. And my mom used to always call and say, why does this man keep running you up the middle? You're not that big. And I had to change.

I have to change my mindset. I had to change my mindset to say, okay, coach wants it up in the middle. I'm going to change my game from being a perimeter guy to say, okay, I'll stick it up inside. So it really becomes a mental thing. Running back can adjust to being that type of runner depending on the offense. I don't think Sequin is going to need to do that. That's not the offense that he's going to be in. So Pat Shermer will get him outside.

Like he did with Darwin Cook. He's going to get him on the perimeter. he's going to use him in a past game. He's not going to need to take all those punishing blows inside between the tackles. Yeah. Lavian Bell is a holdout. He's very, very good. Do you get defensive because running backs probably take a bigger beating than any player in the league?

And so when I talk to running backs, running backs always defend running backs. We're like, hey, receivers aren't taking these shots. Quarterbacks aren't taking these shots. Does it bother you? The Steelers won't just pay up? it does bother me because I feel like he's overperformed his contract, the rookie contract, a long time ago. He overperformed that.

And so now, you know, the Steelers are saying, oh, well, you know, the age sting. It's funny how teens bring up the age sting when it's time to pay a running back. You know, but when you use him and use him up, then all of a sudden it's okay. You got your value and what you wanted to get out of the guy, but you never paid him. It's the same situation to me what we just talked about with Khalil Matt. You draft this player to become one of the best players in the National Football League.

And all of a sudden you don't want to pay him because you're talking about, oh, he's getting up in age and cares and all those things. But yet, this year might be his last year. And you're going to run him into the ground because you're just going to wash your hands with him and say, thank you for your service, Levyon. It's just not fair to me.

Well, Danny and Tomlinson. By the way, this Friday, a movie premieres. You play acting debut for you. You play a pastor in a small town in Kentucky. God bless the broken road. Let's play a clip. Do you see all those empty seats around you? Those are missing brothers and sisters. Love calls us to bring them home. They need to know that God is not done with them, that he has not. abandon them God wants them to come back to him and if they are willing to turn to him with just the tiniest seed of faith you know what I guarantee you have the best yards per carry of any pastor in American church history I can assure you nobody's averaged more more yards per carry

great seeing you man thank you thank you Colin Adam Schepter says What happened in New England with Garoppolo was shocking. That and my take on it coming up next where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, 20 minutes from now at the top of hour number two. 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. Car shopping's confusing, a lot of terms. Dealer price list price. Here's what's not confusing, saving three grand. Off MSRP, go to truecar.com at the top of the hour, our best one in a long time,

where Colin was right and where Colin was wrong, and I was right a bunch and wrong a bunch. It was a great weekend to college football. And we got the NFL coming up on Thursday. Eagles, Atlanta, I have Atlanta in my NFC championship. Isn't that who plays week? It's on NBC. It's not on Fox. Atlanta at Philly.

Yeah, yeah. I think Atlanta is going to win that game. And so I've said this before. If you're thinking about getting a divorce, there's one thing you got to get comfortable with. The person you are leaving is going to have some success in their lives with other people. They're going to go on and date, attractive people and successful people and be intimate with other people. Are you okay with that? Because like, that's what's going to happen.

And if you're not, then don't get divorce. Same thing in sports. the Green Bay Packers knew that Brett Farrv would leave and win a bunch of games because he was still really good at times, but he was getting really old. And Aaron Rogers was really good. But they made the right move. They made the right move. It's painful to let go of a legend, but the Packers made the right move.

Adam Schaefter was saying on a podcast this weekend, he goes, in terms of trading Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots to the Niners, he goes, I'm sure there's regret. There was a 180 within the organization. all of a sudden a rush to trade him right before the trade deadline last year. I think there are people that definitely didn't want to trade him. But that was the circumstance and situation they were in. And he's absolutely right.

I've been told the same thing. Again, I defended the Colts when they moved off Peyton Manning. I said Peyton Manning for the next couple of years is going to be better than Andrew Luck. But this is about the end game. And for the final 12 years after that, Peyton's going to be bye-bye. and Andrew Luck's going to go into playoffs. Remember, Joe Montana was a legend. Joe Montana still had something in the tank, and everybody freaked out.

And he ended up in Kansas City, and they gave the very talented Steve Young a chance. It hurt. It was painful. But not for long, because in the end, it was the right move. And it was really painful when Brett Favre left. Aaron Rogers came to junior college. I mean, he's supposed to be good in practice. I mean, oh, it's worked out really well.

10 years got a title, two MVP's. My guess is it went another title, a couple more MVP's and play for another six years. Remember when Shaq and Kobe? I can remember when the Lakers had to make a decision, and they chose Kobe because Shaq's toes were bad. He wasn't a great practice player. He didn't want to play 82 games. Now, the Lakers had to eat a dirt sandwich for a year or two because Shaq went to a good Miami

team. Joy knows about that and they won a title. But it was the right move to make. Kobe was a better practice player. Kobe wanted to play 80 games a year, Shaq about 60. Kobe was more committed and Kobe didn't have the injuries at the time. Listen, man, I said this a couple years ago. I said this actually last year.

If I was in New England and I'm a Tom Brady guy, the best quarterback I've ever seen, I would have moved off him and given Garoppolo the job. I said it for a year. I'm like Garapolo's going to be a star in this league for 12, 15 years. Now, if Tom Brady left, and this is why I think it would have been an easy decision. wherever Tom Brady would have gone, he would not have had the owner, Kraft, or the coach Belichick that was that good.

He wouldn't. You're not going to get a better coach than Belichick. So the truth is, Brady would have won a bunch of games, but the chance of him getting to the Super Bowl were not nearly as good in Tampa or somebody where else as the chances of Garapolo getting to the Super Bowl

with Belichick if they are together for eight years. But I don't think they were comfortable. I just don't think they're comfortable. And Bob Kraft made a decision that I don't want to watch Tom Brady in another uniform winning a bunch of games and maybe ending up in a Super Bowl. Because Peyton Manning ended up winning a Super Bowl. And Brett Farv got really crulled to the Super Bowl. And Joe Montana for the Chiefs got to the playoffs. And Shaquille O'Neill won a title.

But the Lakers were comfortable with it. They're like, listen, we know he's going to go win some games. But the Laker brand, we're talking about 10 years now. Kobe went on to play 12 years after that win two titles and MVP and until even his last game, he got you 60 and sold the place out. So again, if you're going to get a divorce, are you comfortable seeing your ex have success elsewhere? And I'll say this again. If Tom Brady gets hurt, they don't have a plan B.

They're stuck. They are stuck. They are DOA because they're going to be, if he gets hurt in like week 12 and they're like 10 and two, they're going to get no draft pick. And there's about three good quarterbacks in college, and they'll all be gone by then. So, you know, I will say it to the end. I remember going on radio when Peyton Manning was being moved out of Indianapolis. And people were just totally freaking out.

And I'm like, yeah, Peyton's the better quarterback, because Andrew Luck was obviously going to be the number one pick. And I'm like, of course you go with Andrew Luck. Yes, he's not going to be as good as Peyton in the first two years. But from year three to 14, when Peyton's a wobbly old mess or out of the league, you're going to have what everybody else in the league's looking for. A great quarterback in the NFL. So, you know, and for the record, I'm not sure Peyton Manning was better than Andrew Luck by year two. I think year two, Andrew Luck threw for 40 touchdowns.

Was it year three? Yeah, by year three, Andrew Luck was better than Peyton Manning. I mean, that's the ideal situation. And the truth was, Aaron Rogers by year one and two, was better than Brett Fav. And Steve Young by late year one, year two, was better than Joe Montana. The Lakers for several years were not good at all. But you got to deal with that.

Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong at the top of next hour, Peter Schrager, Joel Clatt, Greg Jennings, Lidney and Tomlinson, just stopped by our show. You know, a lot of people are saying to me, Colin, this Khalil Mack situation. Colin, you're the guy that says don't play defensive players. First of all, I don't have a hard, fast rule on do-pay or don't pay. defensive players. My theory on it is there are certain positions that are really, really important. And I've laid these out multiple times. Joy's been here. If I said, what are the five most important positions in football? Number one is quarterback. I say number two is left tackle.

Number three is a pass rusher. Number four is either a cornerback or an interior defensive lineman. Take your pick. And those are five overall most important players. Then I would go back to center, which most people disagree with me. But I think that's basically the guy calling the audibles on the offensive line is more important than a wide receiver. Now, a lot of people think wide receivers, the fourth guy you'd get running back. Yeah, if you can get Todd Gurley, good luck. But the reason this doesn't make sense for me is that this is a great player at an incredibly valuable position. He's also a really, really good dude.

and oh, by the way, the salary cap's going up. The salary caps going up when the OKC Thunder years ago got rid of James Harden, they never considered the caps going up. You're not going to get penalized as much as you think. Listen, man, there's just not many great players in sports. There's not. But once you have the quarterback in the old line, the next thing you're looking for is Khalil Mack.

So in that instance, you probably got to pay for it. Colin right, calling wrong, hour two. Next. Ah, this is the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening, Hour or two, live in Los Angeles, Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1, Joel Clatt in 10 minutes. Joy Taylor is joining me. We got football Thursday night, the Atlanta Falcons at the Philadelphia Eagles. We had a smorgasbord of great college football this weekend. Great to have you in.

This is our favorite time of the year, no question. Absolutely no question. Sorry about that. Earpiece problem. There we go. I'm all good. All right, we do it every Monday, but because we were off yesterday, we're doing it this week on Tuesday.

It'll back to be Monday at this time next week, where Colin was right over the last week and where Colin was wrong. Where Colin was right? Well, I told you about Sam Darnold four years ago. I said there's this kid and you haven't seen him play yet. He's going to be the next Andrew Luck. And his name is Sam Darnold. It's not about his arm.

It's not about his size. it's the fact that he is a dude. Men will follow him. And the fact that Teddy Bridgewater is absolutely better than Tyrod Taylor, and yet in a city like New York, the coaches for the Jets felt like, no, no, no, no, let's just trade Teddy. He's ready to go. It's going to be choppy.

It's going to be uneven. He's going to throw 18 to 20 picks. But this is the kid four years ago that I told you was the next great NFL quarterback. And for a New York team with a bad old line. line to say, no, with Teddy Bridgewater. No, he's ready to go. We were right on that one. Where Colin was wrong.

Year 4 for Jim Harbaugh, I'm sorry, but it can't look like what I saw against Notre Dame. I thought Harbaugh was a tough guy. They averaged 1.8 yards per rush against Notre Dame. At times, the offense looked frenzied and overwhelmed, not sometimes most of the night. Now, the good news is for them, if you look at their schedule, they'll reel off five wins before they face Wisconsin. And I do think Harbaugh is still a great coach, and Shea Patterson's got some real talent. It reminds me a little bit of Johnny Mansell. But come on now.

I got to admit this one. I said last week, I said, you have a right to rip me if Harbaal loses. He not only lost, they looked physically overwhelmed for much of the three hours. And I deserve the heat. where Colin was right? I just don't buy John Grooen to the Raiders. There are certain industries you can't be gone for a decade. Silicon Valley and the NFL.

Baseball's mostly the same, but football changes every couple of years, every couple of hours. For the record, you know who they cut over the weekend? Martavius Bryant, which wouldn't be that bad except for they gave up a third round pick for him during the draft. Martavius Bryant was a headache in Pittsburgh and everybody from Pittsburgh and around Pittsburgh. knew it. And they gave a third round pick for him as they're trying to rebuild. I have been a cynic from day one. Listen, I had friends in Tampa because I used to work in Tampa. And when Gruden left Tampa, I called them and said, what's the story? And they're like, wears people out. He's the emperor. He wears people out. And that 10-year contract has only

elevated his self-identity. I don't think it's working. I don't buy the Kalil Mack situation. Let me tell you that. Derek Carr's best friend was Kalil Mack in that locker room. You want to keep Derek Carr happy. Get him good left. tackles and signed Khalil Mack. Where Colin was wrong. I've said Big Ten's going to be the deepest conference in college football. I don't think they necessarily have a team like Alabama, but I thought they'd be the best conference in college football.

Yeah, my bad. The SEC was 13 and one overall. Only dysfunctional Tennessee lost. The SEC West was 7 and 0 this weekend, 2 and 0 against the top 10. Ed Orgeron looked like Vince Lombardi. They crushed Miami, a pretty good Miami team. Listen, it's not just that SEC teams look like winners, right? They looked like they were back.

The quarterback plays pretty good. They got a couple of NFL quarterbacks in there. They physically pounded people. They separated the line of scrimmage. And I still think the Big Ten's are a really good conference. But my eyeballs tell me the SEC has regained without question because the ACC looked like garbage. The SEC is once again the king of the sport. Where Colin was right?

Oh, Lamar Jackson. Officially, the Ravens have named him the number three quarterback. I got nothing against the kid. But from day one, I said, the media is going to fawn over him. He's going to be overdrafted. He's a project. He shouldn't be on a football field for a year or two. He's got to learn to sit in that pocket and throw darts and not run.

Because he's kind of spindly. He's going to get hurt. It's not like Cam Newton or Ben Rathesburg are big where he can run, take hits and still make it. The Ravens don't generally keep three quarterbacks. This is the first time in like nine or ten years. the Ravens have kept the third quarterback. And they're doing it because, well, they're not going to let go of him. And he does have some talent.

I do think he was worth drafting. I said late, second, early third, if I didn't have a backup quarterback, I had an older quarterback. I'd roll the dice on him. He's dynamic. Not like Tim Tebow, who I didn't think was draftable. I didn't think Johnny Mansell was draftable. Lamar's draftable.

Josh Allen's draftable. I'm just not drafting him as a top 10 quarterback and plan him as rookie year. So I predicted he'd be overdraft. The media would fawn over him. I can remember when he got drafted, all the NFL reporters were like, oh, he's ready to play. And I'm like, what? Did you watch him in college?

He's not ready to be an NFL quarterback. Said the same thing about Josh Allen at Wyoming. Would you watch the games? Eventually, maybe. Not now. Raven's named him number three quarterback. Where Colin was wrong. Just last week, I told Joy Taylor,

Nick Saban isn't grumpy. Nick Saban's funny. You guys get to take all this stuff seriously. Nick Saban is funny. and then he did this to a reporter. I think both guys are good players. I think both guys can help our team. So why do you continually try to get me to say something that doesn't respect one of them?

I'm not going to. So quit asking. Nick, grow up. Stop being Jack Nicholson and a few good men. You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. Lord. Nick, you know the question's coming.

As I said earlier, when I walk in every day from work, My wife says, how was work today? Half the time I don't want to answer it, but I know the question's coming. You didn't think they were going to ask about that? Maria Taylor's doing her job. She's not a PR person for Alabama. By the way, testy, grumpy, Nick Saban apologized. Do we get a little, can we get the voice guy to say Joy was right?

Joy was right. You were right? Well, do he's a grump. Guy didn't take long, did it? It took about two days and I was wrong on that one. Hey. I'm going to buy Malcolm Jenkins gear for the Eagles. He's become my favorite player.

I said last week, Malcolm Jenkins came out and said, this whole thing in our locker room with this, this like a banner on our locker room is stupid. We won the Super Bowl. We've got to win it again this year. This doesn't mean anything. And I said, I love Malcolm Jenkins. That's how winners think.

Winners celebrate rarely and grind daily. And Malcolm Jenkins, by coming out as a leader and saying, I hate this stupid banner. Doug Peterson took it down. I am buying Malcolm Jenkins shoes if they're on the market. That's what leadership is. Leadership is not like, dude, signed a big client, potte.

Leadership is, hey, I signed a big client in the accounting firm. Everybody going to be here at 545 in the morning, ready to work tomorrow? because that trophy is not doing your prep tomorrow morning. Malcolm Jenkins is a real leader. I liked him during the anthem protest. I didn't think he was divisive. I thought he was a grown-up. And I love him calling out his organization.

And they're smart enough in Philadelphia to go, you know what? Malcolm Jenkins is right. Where Colin was wrong. Odell Beckham Jr. got a massive deal with the Giants. I'm surprised. A, he's a perimeter player. But here's what really surprises me.

He's fragile physically, and sometimes he's fragile emotionally. And I've always struggled paying guys if physically and emotionally, I'm not sure what I get. But Bucky Brooks, a guy I respect told me last week on the show, he's worth six points. To me, Odell Beckham's worth six Advil for all the headaches I'll have with him. But in the end, if he's worth six points, then I admit I was wrong. Odell Beckham's worth the dollars and the New York Giants, I think. thought they'd figure out a way not to pay him, figured out a way to pay him. Where Colin was right?

Finally, I said last week, once Sam Darnold proves he's good enough to start, you've got to move Teddy Bridgewater. The Jets don't need the best backup quarterback in the league. What they need is help. And about a day later, the Jets traded Teddy Bridgewater, is that once you could see that Darnold was ready to play. Again, I'm not saying he's better than Teddy Bridgewater today, but he's good enough to start in the NFL. Sam Darnold would start for about

10 teams in the NFL, including the Jets. He's not starting for Atlanta. He's not starting for New Orleans. He's not starting for Carolina, but he's good enough to start for the Jets. Then you've got to trade Teddy Bridgewater. There's no value in saying, you know, we got the best quarterback threesome in the league. I mean, we got three guys who could win.

Donald can win with that defense. Josh McCown can win with that defense. Get a draft pick and start rebuilding rebuilding that offensive line. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. And with that, I think actually Joel Clatt and I have been defending Jim Harbaugh, but a tough one today for me. Let's see how Joel Clatt responds to that.

Well, you said he has to beat Notre Dame. Yeah. Listen, when you're in this business, sometimes you're going to take some lumps, and we're taking lumps today. I'm taking lumps. 100%. I'm right there with you. It was ugly.

It was ugly. And the frustrating part, for those of us who have been watching his teams, for a long time is that they didn't have an identity on offense. Normally, that's one thing that you would hang your hat on is that they had an identity on offense. And generally, it was surrounding quality offensive line play. And maybe not even just quality offensive line, but dominant offensive line play, in particular in the run game, you gave the stat a little bit earlier and where you were wrong. 1.76 and 1.8 yards per carry, that's terrible. Terrible. In fact, only one other Power 5 school averaged less yards per carry last week.

Oh, my God. Do you know who it was? Who? Louisville against Alabama. That's not the company that you can keep if you're Michigan. It's just not. Can I give some credit, though? Now, again, Notre Dame was good. Okay, I'm going to acknowledge that I was wrong on hardball. But let me just say this.

Nobody in the country is saying this. Alabama eye test, Brian Kelly's working there. They got NFL players. They just put two top 10 NFL players. When they had Bob Davy, when they had Willingham, when they had Charlie, the first thing I noticed was they didn't pass the eyeball test and they didn't have top 10 players in the draft. I'm watching them against Michigan. I'm like, oh, Notre Dame's got better players than Michigan. Yeah, a couple of years with Charlie, like when Brady was a quarterback in 05 and maybe 06 or 04 right in that era, they had some dudes, right?

They had some guys. But I think this is probably the best they've been since that time when they were playing in BCS games back in that era. Now, so I'll agree with you on that. I think Notre Dame's doing a heck of a job. job and they could have a great season, you know? And listen, for as much as we're taking our lumps, and yeah, Michigan looked bad. Bad. I would still maintain that the sky is not falling. No, no, not falling, but he's 28 and 12 at Michigan. Brady Hook was 31 and 20, right? I mean, against their rivals, Rich Rodriguez lost to the rivals by an average of about 16 points, Brady Hoke by about 12 points. Harbaugh is right under nine. So it's getting better. The frustration is that people wanted to be great.

And right now it's not. No. And nine to nine in the last 18 is not going to cut it. They can't compete against Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama. No, no way. Oklahoma would run them out of a building right now. More specifically, Ohio State. Ohio State would run them out of a building.

This week, yes. Now, again, we'll see how good Notre Dame is. They might end up being 11 and 1, 12 and 0 and be right in the playoff consideration. I mean, with what they showed this last week, in particular on the defensive side. It'll be interesting to see. Okay, Nick Saban.

Ha! I mean, my... I think it was Joy and I was in on that. We were all over here about... So you, I find Saban kind of... Funny. You thought he was funny. Funny, funny, jokey.

Chris Rock funny. I mean, funny, funny, funny, funny, funny. Funny, like, ha-ha, like I amused you. Like, he's kind of got a wink. Like, he's exploding on these rants every week. He came driving to the press conference knowing he was going to... Sure. And then I watched him this week.

I'm like, Nick. and here it is again. Quit being a jerk. Here it is. I think both guys are good players. I think both guys can help our team. So why do you continually try to get me to say something that doesn't respect one of them? I'm not going to.

So quit asking. Nick, here's the problem. Do you want us to ask about your right guard? You have star quarterbacks. Yeah, there's really three things that I want to say about this in particular. One is the disappointing part is he's smarter than that. right you said hey i know exactly the question i'm going to get when i walk in to my house we all do he knows exactly what's going to and he created that right that's number two he created

this situation by not naming a starter so that's what we're all going to ask about don't tell us that we can't ask about the quarterback position if this was the left tackle and you hadn't named a starter no one would care and no one would ask you but it's your job as a coach to answer about the most important position on the field now he's smarter than that he should give a better answer and then here's the worst here's the worst part he comes out and talks about my team I was just frustrated with the way they played and there were some undisciplined things

at the end of the game I'm like whoa whoa whoa you were the most undisciplined that was the equivalent of drawing an unsports and like conduct penalty after the game so like you're doing exactly what you hate your players doing this is what Bob Knight I thought was a hypocrite Bob would always talk about emotional control and play under control it's like Bob was never under control

snapping at media snaping at revs snapping at players So, you know, Nick Saban is told his age in Jimmy Sexton, get me out of this sport if I get old, cranky, and outdated. And one of the first times I'm like, Nick, come on. You don't want to be old crabby guy. Like the reason you get young players is you're kind of fun sometimes. Can I expand real quickly on the quarterback position at Alabama? And I'm going to try to do this as quickly as I can.

This is a call to the coaching staff at Alabama and even J. Laird and hurts himself. Do not play over four games. You're going to graduate in December, likely. only had 15 credits left, which means you can be a graduate transfer and play for two more years as long as you redshirt this season. Two is the starter. He's better than you. You can further your career and get two more years out of this career somewhere else.

You're going to need to go somewhere else. But it only works if you play less than four games because you can play less than four games, still get a red shirt this year after the – I think – I think Jaylon's either got to leave the team midseason or Nick Samen's got to sit down and say, I will only play you if I have to. mop-up duty? If I was Jalen Hertz, I would say, no, thank you. Why would you do that?

Why would you do that? Because you're a college teammate. No, no, no, no. You sign the letter, you got to play. I disagree. And this is why I applauded Urban Meyer over the spring when he had a quarterback battle. And rather than dragging it into the fall,

he said, no, Dwayne Haskins is my starter. Why did you name him right now? Because Joe Burrow graduated. So he can go now and play a year. See, that was very respectful. and it was the right thing to do for the kid. Joe Burrow goes to LSU. He's the opening day starter, and they have a big win. You've got to do right by the kids sometimes.

They don't get paid. You might as well do right by him eligibility. Oh, boy, geez, they're grown-ups. Okay. In a one-sided contract. Well, you know, I never went to college to get rich. I went to college for an opportunity to get rich. I got a lot of stuff in college.

A lot of people getting rich on the back of these kids. Oh, Lord. I'm just saying. I'm just saying, too. I'm just saying I went to college and star for four years. Well, you weren't talented enough like these kids. Oh, you didn't hear my broadcasting. I was great.

I was this good at 12. I disagree totally. Okay, so the SEC comes out this weekend. Oh, they just punched people in the forehead. They were so good. Oh, they just crushed everybody. Okay, let's be honest. I think the Big Ten's this.

Pretty good. The SEC's way better than everybody. Yeah, I agree. In particular, the SEC West. The SEC West is now the best division in football after what they did in week one. Two top ten wins. You were talking about a little bit earlier. 13 and 1 is a conference.

Four and one against Power 5 opponents. the only egg was Tennessee. Way to go, Tennessee. Way to join the party. By the way, Brown's owner is the biggest booster at Tennessee. Shocking. Shocking. Yeah.

But no, I mean, listen, we have to be honest. The fans hate us. Listen, everybody wants to hate on the SEC, but in that part of the country, it's the biggest thing in the world. Church and college football. And that's what they're good at, and that's what they love, and they are empowered by it, and they love it. And they give money to it. And they're committed to it. And the South right now has regained its title.

10 crept up with good coaching hires. SEC looks better than everybody. By the way, Washington, can I just say this? Go ahead. Of all the teams that lost this weekend, Michigan loses, Washington loses, Penn State. Can I just say this?

Washington looked pretty good. Yeah, Washington was very good. In fact, I would make the argument that they should have won. They kind of snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. They're inside the 10, three times, and only got three points in all three of those drives. Poor play-calling, ran an option play with Jake Browning. They fumbled that. Their defense was spectacular.

Washington's going to be in the mix. What's hard now is that they're going to be rooting for Auburn to win the SEC West. I don't know if Auburn's capable of doing that, especially with Alabama and that division. No, they're not. But Auburn's really good. I thought Washington, let's not go crazy on this, is outside of Bama and Clemson, because the ACC's garbage. There's a bunch of stuff in the air right now. Like this weekend, there's like big games.

Can I throw one more team in that mix? What? Oklahoma. Oh, Lord. I texted Lane Kiffin yesterday. he's like, oh, Lord, they're good. Yeah. Same with me.

Actually, I was texting with Lane after the game. You were too? Well, yeah. Yeah, he returns mine first. Okay, that's fine. The bottom line is, FAU was an 11-win conference champion last year

that was a top 10 scoring offense, had a 1,900-yard rusher, has an all-American caliber linebacker, and Oklahoma starters were out of the game in the middle of the second quarter. This was not Kelly Bryant for Clemson being in the game late in the third against. Ferns Furman. They blew FAU out. I'm telling you, read my words, lips. Oklahoma is better this year

than last. Well, they got rid of that quarterback who's grabbing his stuff. You quarterback grab your stuff. I'm out on that. That new quarterback is special. Hey, you got to believe me because I got a book. Okay. I got to take a problem. He was out of there on that. I'm very busy right. I got Greg Jennings. I got a lot of stuff. Don't bring on my book, Joel. Do not bring on my book. Coming up next. I'm very busy on this show. Coming up next. Very busy. It always works when you get the right guy,

and this team's rolling the dice, but they got the right guy, and that's coming up next. See you, bud. See you, bud. The NFL is back with a huge week-one double-header on Fox. Most of the country will see Odell Beckham and the Giants take on the Jags. At one Eastern, followed by America's Game of the Week,

is Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys, Battle Cam Newton and the Panthers. Sunday on Fox or watch anywhere on the Foxx. sports app. Check local listings for the game in your area. Blazing 5 returns this Friday. My NFL picks. We got close to 60% last year. By the way, that Giants game and the Jags game, I can't wait to watch. Giants have a new coach, left tackle, star running back.

Odell Beckham, Eli Manning. And I like their defense. So the Giants are my kind of dark-core Super Bowl pick this year. Don't have them winning the division, but I think they'll be, along with Cleveland, the most improved team in the National Football League. So John Gruden over the weekend did two things. One of them's getting no press that I don't like. Number one, they cut Matavius Bryant, who's a wide receiver. They gave up a third round pick for before the draft.

They just cut him. Bad move. You gave up a third round pick and got nothing. That's not what Belichick generally does. Secondly, you got rid of Khalil Mack. I'm not a big fan of paying a bunch of players a lot of money. You pay a quarterback, a left tackle, a pass rusher, an elite corner, and a downline interior, Aaron Donald.

Once you get those five, I'm not overpaying for a safety, wide receivers generally, tight ends, guards, you know, even running backs, unless you can get me a Todd Gurley, I'm not going to pay a lot of money for a running back. I'm really not. But Gruden, here's my problem with Gruden. Coaching is connecting. Got to connect and talk and communicate with the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, general manager, your scouts, your quarterback. Great coaches are generally very good communicators. Okay, John Gruden's last nine years, and this is why I've always questioned the move to hire him, he lived in Tampa, got up in the morning and went to a little room a couple miles from his house

and worked mostly by himself. And I'm not sure after nine years of doing that, TV is a lonely business. It's you and a top producer. Monday night football, he's flying on that private jet. He's picked up by a guy, works closely with a producer or two, and then he flies back to his house and goes to that little office, that's not the way it worked as a head coach. It is a series of working with other people.

To add onto that, they gave him a 10-year contract, which removes him even more from other people. Nobody gets a 10-year contract. He's got the longest contract, the richest contract. It makes him unrelatable. He's got ultimate power. In fact, he's got more power than the owner, certainly more than the general manager, because if the owner came and said, you're fired, he'd say, here's my attorney. You owe me eight, nine more years.

Look, even Bill Belichick has to answer to somebody. Even Nick Saban this weekend and Urban Meyer in the last two weeks have had to answer to somebody. John Gruden doesn't feel like a coach. You know what he feels like? He feels like an emperor. That doesn't work. Steve Kerr has to answer to people. Bill Belichick had to trade Jimmy Garoppolo and didn't want to.

The further removed you are from your staff, your general manager, your star players, the worse it gets. You're living in a tunnel. You're isolated. I mean, we've all worked for, I mean, even NFL owners, Joy, have to answer to somebody. NFL owners have to answer to people. They've got to answer to Roger Goodell. Jerry Jones has been slapped on the wrist by Roger Goodell. Bob Kraft has been slapped on the wrist by Roger Goodell. Even owners have to answer to people. NBA owners have to answer to Adam Silver. John Gruden's the only guy in sports. Doesn't have to anybody. That's an emperor. That's not a coach. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Nathan Peterman, starting quarterback for the bills. They ended their summer-long quarterback competition and named Nathan Peterman, the week one starter over Josh Allen. All right. Take listen to Sean McDermott on the decision. You know, Nate has earned the right.

I thought his total body of work all the way back from the spring through the summer and fall camp to this. point, you know, he has certainly earned the right. You know, we should not be defined by our worst moment. Nathan Peterman. Yeah. I had a five turnover first half to start his career. That's kind of defining him at this point.

Yeah, I think he has to do better than that. If you were only in one movie and it was Porky's 2 or Caddyshack 3 or something, that would define you. Now, if you're Tom Hanks and you do a crappy movie, Tom, Tom, Brady can have a four interception game. But Nathan Peterman hasn't had many starts and the only one bombed at the box office. So that does kind of define him, right? But what does this say about Josh Allen? That is the case and they are still not starting.

Joy, it says exactly what we said on this show. Josh Allen's a project. It's not a prospect. You can't beat out Nathan Peterman. I mean, Stan Darnold beat out Teddy Bridgewater, who can start for eight teams in this league. And Josh McCown, by the way, for the Jets, won five, and they lost six-one possession. and games. Josh McGowan can win games in this league with the Jets defense. So it tells you that

Josh Allen was, you know, I guess Buffalo needed a quarterback, but I mean, they're a mess. I mean, they're a guaranteed five-win team this year. Not looking good there. All right, so the Giants recently made O'Dell Beckham Jr., the highest paid wide receiver in league history. And John Marr recently talked

about O'Dell's new contract and how he expects leadership to be a part of the deal. He said when other players look at the best player on the team and how hard he works and how hard he competes, it sets a good example. That's a good tone for everyone else. I do expect him to be a leader. He's going into his fifth year now.

He's not a rookie anymore. He's a seasoned veteran. I will say this. All the reports about Odell are that he is a very hard worker. Yes. There's never been any comments about him not being. Don't you worry, though, that he is a little fragile? That's a lot of money for a guy that's hurt.

I mean, he's coming off of an injury and the type of injury like that, it's kind of hard. I think it's too early to say that. You're going to have some sort of major injury if you play. football. It's just the way it is. He's small. I mean, you know, we always say this. People can bang on Eli Manning. He's there every Sunday.

Yeah. I mean, there's... Yeah, but I mean, Eli Manning is an outlier. I mean, he truly is an outlier when it comes to his availability and not getting hurt. I don't want to put one thing on the end or the other. I get what you're saying, but I'm not ready to call him fragile just yet. That's fair. One more injury, though.

Couldn't we argue this, though? At this point, he's Derek Rose. He's got the shoe deal, the popularity, and he can play. Right. But it was at this point that Derek Rose came back and got hurt again. Steph Curry came back and didn't get hurt for years. I mean, if O'Dell Beckham gets hurt week seven, does it feel like he's Derek Rose? That would be very bad for everyone.

Icon. That would be bad for the league. Rich icon status can't stay healthy. Yeah, it would not be good. But as far as him being a leader, I mean, his work ethic has never been in question. So that to me is a given. But I don't know that people necessarily grow into being leaders. I think you either are one and then you become a better one or you're just not.

Like that's kind of unfair to put on someone just because you pay them a lot of money that now of a sudden they're supposed to be the leader of the locker room. Yeah, I don't demand that he's a leader. Actually, there's not much I demand from him other than I'm crossing my fingers he stays healthy. If the guy doesn't, if the guys plays on average 14 games a year for the next four years, then the contract's going to be fine. Yeah, I think the only thing is you expect. of him is availability and production.

So, and to stay out of trouble, obviously. Finally, in his prime with the Cowboys, Des was sometimes too fiery on the sidelines, and it was very demanding of the ball, but his patience this summer is a little anti-Dez, and it's a little confusing, and it was also confused Michael Urban. Stick on a listen.

I do know who's representing him, and I'm just a little bit confused with the direction that they are trying to go here. I would tell him to find a team and get on a team. find a team, get on a team. Get back to belonging somewhere. Right now, you're like a vagabond where you don't have a team and you're wondering. Yeah, that's a good point, actually.

You know, it's just like we were talking about Nathan Peterman. What's the last thing we saw with Des Bryant? That he wasn't performing well and that he was a problem for the team. I'm sure Des has a difference of opinion about how what his relationship was with his teammates and maybe coaches. And that's fair. There's two sides to every story. But the production you can't argue with. So I think Michael's right

I agree with it. I don't understand what Des is doing. I reportedly turned down an offer from Cleveland because it was worth less than $5 million. I don't know. There's some strategy that Des has that we are all just unaware of? I will make a bet though that he does. Let's bet lunch. Do you believe he'll play in the league? I do.

This year? Yes. Oh yeah, I do think he will end up on a team this year. So do I. I think people just want to control the deal. And if you sign him after the season starts and he's a problem, you can cut him. You just get rid of them. And I think he's still, listen, he had 800 yards and what six touchdowns for the Cowboys last year. He can still play. Of course. And I'm sorry, it's not, I mean, I know he can be disruptive. But if, like, let's just say Drew Breeze got him.

Drew Breeze can handle Des Bryant. I think it matters where he goes. Yes. For the disruption thing to be a problem. Yeah. Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. Greg Jennings, NFL analyst. He's all ready to go and joins us next.

this Thursday, Draft Kings fantasy football contest, a million dollar top prize. Go to Draft King's app, sign up with the code herd, free shot at a million bucks. When you make your first deposit, minimum $5 deposit, eligibility restrictions apply. Go to draftkings.com code heard for details. Greg Jennings next. Car shopping's confusing, a lot of terms, dealer price, list price, invoice. Here's what's not. Save three grand off MSRP, Truecar.com.

I haven't even gotten a lot of my best stuff. I'm barely even trying at this point. The show is just a little over halfway done. Joy Taylor is joining us. Greg Jennings. Peter Schrager last hour. We got a lot of news coming up in the last hour. Don't go anywhere.

And where is Greg Jennings? Multiple pro-Bolder often disagrees with me. That's okay. I still like him. Decade long of service in the NFL. Seven with the Packers. All right. Listen, a lot of you.

NFL guys, I'm like, yeah, I don't know how much I'd pay him. Gotta be honest. Khalil Mack, worth every penny. Kind of feels like I'd, here's the underrated thing too. He's not only great. It's not only a really important position. I think he's Derek Carr's best friend. Like, I'm sorry, but I want Derek Carr to be happy.

Like, when I heard it, I was like, two first round picks is nice, but you know what? They're going to be drafting, don't you? Pass rush. I don't have one. I didn't get it. No, I didn't, I don't understand this, this lack of attention to detail, in my opinion. And what I mean by attention to detail is this is a two-time all-pro player, defensive player of the year.

You saw this in its progression. When it comes to contracts and general managers, making sure that they do what they need to do, and being ahead of the game, you knew this was coming. So you could have prepared yourself to ensure you keep what really is your franchise guy. Derek, don't get me wrong, Derek Carr, quarterbacks are the face of the NFL. But on that side of the ball, a defensive pass rusher, a once in every 15, 20 year player that you grasp,

you have in your possession. By the way, here's what also bothers me, Greg, is that when the Rams were doing their deal with Aaron Donald, the story this weekend I read two of them, they were communicating constantly. They're like, we love you, we'll get to it, we want to get guys. They were communicating. Like, again, let's say you and I, okay, we're at this company.

And if they weren't signing us and my boss was hiding from me, I'm like calling my agent. I got to get out of here. If they're saying, Colin, we like you. We got to take care of Greg's contract. We love you. You're part of the future. My problem with Emperor Gruden is his tenure contract already sort of removes him from everybody else.

I feel like he's not communicating with anybody. Yeah, I feel like with John Gruden, with Oakland Raiders paying him so much money, you've put so much power in his hands and on his words to where they carry so much weight. And when you look at, let's look at the Los Angeles Rams. You look at coach Sean McVeigh, less need. They have a great relationship. But one of the things that Sean McVeigh does really well is he communicates with his players. You know, he's been in studio. Talker, talker, talker.

He's a talker. He wants to make sure everyone understands their role and that they're involved in that they're top of mind for him. When you look at John Gruden, that's not his MO when you're on the other side of the ball. you're kind of second, Barry, maybe third, maybe fourth, pending on where you fall. Greg, when you're a CEO of a company, you've got to occasionally stop by and talk to the mailroom people. Without question. You got to stop in the hall. Can't have your head down in the hallway.

You're like, I really appreciate your work. You get too far removed as a CEO. You have a disconnect with your employees. John feels disconnected to some of these young players. There's no excuse. This, honestly, for me, it, it, it, changes for everyone, for the Oakland Raiders specifically, changes the landscape of even their season this year.

Yes. The locker room, the culture. You talked about Derek Carr and his relationship, Khalil Max relates. Like, it was, it was real. There was something that they had beyond the game of football off the field to where there was a relationship, there was a kinship where this is my guy. This is my guy. He's the guy on the defensive side of the ball.

I recognize that. I praise him. I have a great relationship with him. I'm the guy on this side of the ball, but we need one another. We feed off one another. Years ago, somebody told me this. If you want to know how good a deal is, ask your rivals. What do you think Philip Rivers is saying this morning?

Don't have to face Khalil Mack. What do you think Andy Reid saying this morning? Oh, God, don't have to deal with that guy. All your rivals are like celebrating this morning. That's a great point. All of your rivals. and it gives even your offensive tackles like such a sigh of relief

none of them will ever admit it. But he was embarrassing people. Yes. Todd Gurley literally said he's excited that he's not there. Of course. Who wouldn't be? By the way, you know Reggie McKenzie. He was in Green Bay.

He and Gruden now are not getting along. I always thought he was a good dude. Yeah, and he understands this is why it's kind of, I'm disappointed. Not so much at Reggie, but I know that they've given John Gruden a lot. of power because I don't see Reggie McKenzie making he was he was making every decision that needed to be made specifically in the draft when it came to who he released who he brought on who

he acquired to make sure that they were building something special John Gruden comes along and you don't want to resign you don't want to sign Khalil Mack to a long term where does this come from I said even even Belichick had to answer to craft Saban had to answer to the media Urban Meyer, the titans of coaching in the last three, four weeks have had to answer to somebody. Owners in the NFL answer to the commissioner. Gruden doesn't answer to anybody. Man, that's why you got to be careful giving guys 10-year deals.

Okay, Sam Darnold's starting for the New York Jets. I don't know who the sportscaster was that called it years ago. Oh, wait, it was me. He's pretty good, right? How is he going to fare? I think he's going to fare. Here's my thing. I wasn't a fan of him just outright being a starter,

but I wasn't opposed to it because their future is based on his success. And they don't have, the only reason why I wasn't a fan of it is because of the pieces that he has around him. I would want more of a solidified O line with the younger quarterback to give him confidence not to promote, like, frightened chaos or happy feet early in his career. I just, I don't like that. As far as everything else, Sam Darnold, the fit, New York. being there. Everything works.

I mean, he's going to fare very well. We've seen, when I heard Josh Norman talk about Sam Darnold, and you get to see a guy in practice. You get to see a guy the way he prepares. Oh, when they had the joint scrimmage? When they had the joint scrimmage in training camp, he said, this guy, I'm thinking, rookie, let me see what he's all about. He makes one throw.

Okay. He makes another throw. I'm kind of baiting him thinking that I can't. and kind of lull him a little bit, he makes a throw, and it's on the money. And I'm like, this is Josh Norman now. In practice where you're going to take more chances, you want to, you can roam as you will, you can play schemes, you can hide things a lot different. And he was praising this rookie quarterback of how impressed he was, not only with his ability,

with his ball placement, his accuracy, his ability to adjust on the fly. He's always throwing the ball great on the move. He's impressive to watch. I just, I hope that they're able to protect him. And that's the thing for me. Protect him. Keep him standing up right. By the way, played in Green Bay.

But you've always been critical if needed with Green Bay. So Aaron's back. They drafted two corners. You know, the division's better. Kalea Max now, Bears Front Seven is good. Minnesota is good. I think that division, if Matt Stafford finishes in fourth place, that's the best division in football.

Matt Stafford, usually a fourth place team in a division, you got bad quarterback. If Matt Stafford finishes in fourth, that is a really good division. Today, NFC North, you live in Minnesota, you were a Packer. You know that division. Today, who wins it? Minnesota Vikings, the Vikings. I just, when I look at what,

They have compared, it's kind of like looking at Aaron Rogers versus every quarterback. Right. When I look at the depth that they have at every position, outside of quarterback, they have Trevor Simeon who could step in and farewell with that defense. But defensively, they have so much depth, interior linemen, pass rushers, linebacker play, secondary. They have depth. They have experience.

Then you look at the offense. They have. home run hitters at receiver. Stefan Diggs. Allen, Thielen, like you, Devin Cuck,

you have a great tight end. Their Achilles Hill is their offensive line, but when you bring in a Kirk Cousins, what you're basically saying is you make them better. You get rid of the ball. You're a mobile guy.

You know where we're most weak and most vulnerable. You make them better. When I look at every other team in that division, they have ailments, they have flaws. The Green Bay Packers, you take away Aaron Rogers. You can't just do that, but it's been proven last year. They're a non-factor. Defensively, I don't know if they have enough yet.

There's a lot. With the Packers, there's a lot of questions. A lot of questions. With the Vikings, there's a ton of answers. Absolutely. The Bears, however, I actually, last year, I remember saying the Bears offensive line, one of the best offensive lines in football. defensively they weren't terrible.

No. Quarterback play. I don't buy Trubisky. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I don't. You're out on him now? I was never in. How can I be out when I was never in?

I thought you said that. Maybe after a cocktail I said he was okay. He's not. I just don't see. We got to go. Fourth best quarterback in the division. Tribisky. Tribisky.

Okay. Yeah. Fact Bisckey. Fourth best. Hour three next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Hurst weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Ah, hour number three.

This is the herd. Live in Los Angeles, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, football seasons officially here. All my days off are done. I'm done. I sat around this weekend and I ate

and I watch football. Joy Taylor is joining me, Hour 3, live in Los Angeles. For the record, Peter Schrager, who's a great guest, Shreg's inside NFL stuff, is going to be joining us the real reason for the Kahliel Mack trade from a Bears perspective in 15 minutes. Also, best for last. I'll give you my four surprise NFL playoff teams for the year. But first, let me get to John Gruden's big trade. Calio Mac is everything you're trying to find in the NFL. Every single person in the NFL is trying to find basically the same thing. A great player who plays at a really important position that's a great guy in the locker room.

And the Raiders had it and gave him up because, you know, he was really expensive. Dude, so is filet mignon. So is the Mercedes-Benz. So is staying at the Rich Carlton. Like, you got to get comfortable with that, right? I understand if the Raiders didn't have a star quarterback. And they thought to themselves, oh, Lord, we got to give up this defensive guy, get a bunch of picks to get a quarterback.

But they do. They have Derek Carr. I would get if the Raiders didn't have somebody to protect their quarterback, their offensive linemen. And they said, you know what? We got a quarterback. We got to protect him. And we're going to give up this great player to get it.

But time out. The Raiders do have a great quarterback. And they do have a good offensive line. So the next thing the Raiders would want is, is a great pass rusher. And they gave him up. What are you doing? Uncle Collins, three rules of football.

It's not real complicated. Number one, get a good quarterback. Number two, get people who can protect your quarterback. And number three, get to the other team's quarterback. They've already got one and two. Do you know what they're going to do with those two draft picks they got, Joy? Try to find the next Khalil Mack. And they won't.

because he's a once in a franchise player. There are no Lawrence Taylor's for the New York Giants. They're never going to find another one. Denver's never going to get a John Elway. It's never going to find him. It doesn't work that. There's going to be no next Dion Sanders, the greatest cornerback of all time. This morning, I went and looked at the last 14 years of the Raiders' first round picks.

One great player. Leo Mac. Hey, but you got two first round picks where you could hopefully find, oh, crap, that won't happen. Man, don't outthink the room. If you, think about this, if you get a job and it pays well, okay, check. And your boss is really cool. Check. And it's in a great city. Check.

You don't leave that job. job? Those are the three checks you're looking for. It pays. Your boss is cool. And it's in a great city. If you get into a relationship, man or a woman, and they're really fun to hang out with, and your friends and parents like them, and you're really attracted to them. You don't break that up. You don't move out of that relationship. You go buy her a big ring. Yeah, I said it. You do. Come on now, man. This is football. The whole game in football is fine a quarter, protect a quarterback and then get people who get their quarterback. You got to figure that out.

This is not complicated. Don't get me wrong. I understand it's really expensive, but as I get older, there are just certain things you can't be cheap on. You can't be cheap on transportation. You can't be cheap on toilet paper. Just spend the extra money. Trust me, don't be cheap with NFL superstars because you get about to a draft. You get about too a draft.

and I may be hyperventilating. It may be one. And you let him walk out. I'll say it again. I just don't get the John Gruden thing. I just don't get it. Had him, let him leave. Big mistake.

All right, let me transition to this. I just live in Portland, Oregon. That's a fine city in Portland, Oregon. And do you know what the biggest company in Portland, Oregon is? Well, it's Nike. So I know a lot of people that worked at Nike? I've read a couple of books about Nike and Nike yesterday did something. Nike does all the time. They had a print ad for Colin Kaepernick. Believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything.

A lot of people this morning are going to burn their Nike shoes. Other people are going to run out and buy more Nike's. I'm not going to do it either. That's not really my personality. But can I remind you certain people are comfortable with. discomfort. Remember when Tiger Woods got into trouble? Remember that story? Woo, that was controversial. Gatorade said, no, thank you. We're out. Jolette said, no thank you. We're out. Buick said, no, thank you. We're out. AT&T said, no thank you, Tiger. We're out. You know who stayed with Tiger? Nike. They're comfortable with discomfort. Nike actually left golf. But they stayed and backed Tiger Woods.

Nike's slogan is, just do it. It's not, just be careful. Just be cautious. Just don't offend anybody. Just don't make a move that hurts for a couple of days. The stock price. Nike's slogan is, just do it. Just do it.

All chips, center of the table. Piss some people. people off, make some others happy, some will burn socks, some will buy shoes. I'm old enough to remember when Nike did this ad, and it was for a decade, and I am not exaggerating. For a decade, the most controversial spot in America. I am not a role model. I'm not paid to be a role model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. some people are built to withstand discomfort some companies are built to withstand discomfort

Nike executives did research sat in a room this would not work at IBM but in Nike they've been just doing this not just doing it they've been doing this for years this to me is not really about cap it's about business And I've always been fond of Nike, not just because they were the biggest company and many of my friends work there. But I've watched companies cave, bosses cave, people cave because they're afraid of the pushback. Nike never is. And I applaud any company that can withstand the heat, have a belief system that makes people uncomfortable regularly.

More than ever, we need that. Their slogan is not just be cautious and just be timid. It's poker chips all in. Just do it. I won't burn my shoes, nor will I buy new ones. But I can appreciate people who take stands, deal with blowback, and wake up the next morning feeling stronger than never. Coming up next, Peter Schrager.

The Bears made the move. Multiple teams tried to get Khalil Mag. He'll give us some background. That's coming up next. Best for last before the end of the hour. The NFL is back with a huge week one doubleheader on Fox. Most of the country will see Odell Beckham and the Giants take on the Jagged at one Eastern, followed by America's Game of the Week, as Ezekio Elliott and the Cowboys battle Cam Newton and the Panthers.

Sunday on Foxx or watch it anywhere on the Fox Sports app. Check local listings for the game in your area. Oh, I can't wait. This Thursday, Draft King. Fantasy Football Contest, million bucks top prize, go to the Draft Kings app, sign up, code herd, free shot at a million bucks, minimum $5 deposit. Now via the Coward Global Satellite Network, Fox NFL Reporter, co-host a good morning football on another network, the NFL network, Peter Shreger.

All right, let's do, you know, Carlisle Mac, I don't like what the Raiders did, but my guess is the Chicago Bears, who already had a pretty interesting defense got better. What were the, why did the Bears eventually make that move? Because, listen, when you're giving up a couple first-round picks, those are gold bars. Everybody loves those. Tell me how it went down. Yeah, Colin, this actually started in February, and I don't think John Gruden and Reggie McKenzie messed up the last few weeks. What happened was in February, everyone meets at the Combine.

And if you've got a guy going into the final year of his contract, especially a 27-year-old player, who's an all-pro at two positions and a former defensive player of the year, who's pretty much a saint off the field, you like to lock those guys up long term, and the Raiders offered a deal to Khalil Max agents. Khalil Mack's agents came back five days later with a deal that the Raiders thought was just stratospheric way off, way off. Sure enough, he doesn't show up, says we're too far apart. And then Aaron Donald's deal gets done last Friday. And guess what? It was less than what Khalil Mack was asking for.

So it was almost a deal where Kalil Mack's agent said, we wanted this number, and it was actually more reasonable than what Aaron Donald got. So at that point, the Raider said, we can't pay Derek Carr $25 million. We can't pay Khalil Mack $25 million and field a team. However, I do blame Gruden to the Raiders because back in February, if you opened lines of communication, you can get creative. You can start playing around with the salary cap. You can make some other move throughout free agency so that you do have that. Instead, they went nuclear spring.

They didn't talk to Max agents. They said, you guys are crazy. You'll never get that. Guess what? Aaron Donald got it? And then the Chicago Bears paid Mac even more. So, yeah, if you're a Raiders fan, you can be disappointed. Not so much for the trade to the Bears, but for the fact that they didn't have to

have the communication throughout March, April, June, July. As for the other teams, the Bears weren't the only ones, the Bills, the Browns, the Jets, the 49ers came in with a very good offer. They all wanted Khalil Mack, but no one made a better offer than the Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Bears paid them the highest paid defensive contract in the history of the league. You can't blame either side at that one. Okay, Levian Bell's out. I like him a lot. It's a big number. You say this situation's a little tricky for the Steelers. It is, and they went through this last year and Levyon Bell showed up. Week one was a little rusty, only had 32 yards, and then he caught fire and was fine. Everyone thinks the Steelers have all the leverage in this

one because Levyon Bell can't negotiate a contract with them throughout this season, and he certainly can't negotiate with another team. But what if Levyon Bell doesn't show up? What if he doesn't show up week two? What if doesn't show up week three? Almost like Khalil Mack was willing to do. Everyone tells me Levy on Bell is supposed to show up Wednesday. That's tomorrow. He's supposed to be there. But what if he doesn't, and the Steelers start off 0 and 3? What if he doesn't, and the Steelers are two and six going into week nine? Suddenly, Levy on Bell has no tread on the tires. He's a free agent at the end of the season.

He has no 400-carry season where everyone says, oh, well, they burned him out and they carried the load, and I don't want to... And suddenly, he's making a statement for running backs everywhere, because David Johnson's contract is coming up, Ezekiel Elliott's coming up, Leonard Fornett. And if you're going to pay a wide receiver like Odell Beckham, and you're going to pay a receiver like Antonio Brown and his team, Levi-on-Bel can make a stand not only for himself, but for the entire position and say, you know what, we deserve to be paid like those guys do as well. And if this is the case, he does have a little bit of leverage here because if the Steelers just absolutely struggle without him, Levyon-Bell made a case not only for himself, but also for the running-back position.

If he misses games, things get very interesting for the Steelers, and they're banking on the fact that he'll be there, and he'll be ready week one. We'll see. You're in New York City. Sam Darnold gets the green light to start week one. Your thoughts, what you'd been hearing before that and the reaction when it was announced. Yeah, everyone is thrilled. This kid is as ready as any 21-year-old has ever been ready for.

I think the Jets made the right decision here. You got something for Bridgewater, who's a backup quarterback. You have Josh McCown, who might as well be a quarterback's coach. And you got Jeremy Bates, who's one of the most respected offensive minds, working with a young quarterback that can build it from the ground up. Jets fans understand the deal here. This isn't Mark Sanchez as a rookie, because Mark Sanchez is a rookie, had Alan Fanica and Nick Mangold

and the Brickshaw Ferguson protecting him with Jericho Cotry and Braylon Edwards at Whiteout. It's a different deal. This is the long term and they believe he's in the right situation. Yeah. Is there a team that you think is a little under the radar? You've been communicating with all these teams for a month. Do you have a little...

My giants are my dark horse. Pat Schumer's really good. They get home run hitters, wide receiver, O'Dell, Barkley. You know, they actually upgraded their own line at left, tackle and at guard. I think Giants are a little bit of a dark horse team. Who's yours? Let me make a case for you because I know how you think and I know you love the Belichick way and I know you love locker room chemistry. Yeah. The ultimate nature versus nurture locker room

thing going on right now in the league is the Miami Dolphins. They got rid of Indomacan Su, Jarvis Landry, Pouncey and Ajai, all guys who didn't mesh with Adam Gase, who are all outstanding players and instead brought in Danny Amindola, the ultimate team guy, Frank Gore, Josh Sitten, Daniel Kilgore, guys that are ultimate team guys. Gase is all in, pushing his chips, getting rid of a ton of talent, and he's saying, give me the better locker room. I think it's a fascinating study in the NFL right now, because basically he's doing the opposite of Sean McVeigh,

where McVe is saying, give me all the best players, I'll make it work. Gase is saying, give me the best guys, give me the team guys that all the young players can root for and learn from, and we're going to roll the dice that way. I don't know if it works, but I love the fact that Gase is going nurture over nature. And Colin, I know how you think about this. You don't want knuckleheads on your team, and I'm not calling those guys knuckleheads. But Adam Gase is getting a bunch of team-first guys, and they are a team that no one is talking about.

So the Miami Dolphins, it's a cool social experiment. We'll see how it goes. Finally, Eagles, Carson Wentz not ready to go. Any insight? I mean, it was a serious injury. We've kind of predicted that he wouldn't start week one. Are we talking out a month, out a week? What's up?

They're hoping it's less than a month, but they are not rushing him at all. They are confident in Nick Foles. They also don't have Alshon Jeffrey. They also don't have Mike Groh their offensive court. I mean, they also don't have, I'm sorry, John D. Filippo, the quarterback's coach or Frank Reich. It's a different Eagles team, week one. But they believe Carson Wentz is going to be their quarterback for the next 10, 15 years. We're not worried about weeks one through four.

They just want to get him on the field when he's fully ready. Okay. So Thursday, the NFL starts in earnest. great talking to you Shrags. I love talking to you, Colin. See you soon. For the record, you know, one of the things, years ago I was told this by an executive in my business. And he said, in a serious business, let's say accounting or law or surgery hospital, a sense of humor goes a long way.

And in comedy, serious people win. you'd think in comedy the funny is goofy. No, no, no, Jerry Seinfeld's serious. Jay Leno are serious people, winners in comedy. But when you start looking at intense jobs, people who can lighten up and don't overwhelm people do very well. The city of New York provides a lot of energy, a lot of flash, a lot of excitement,

and a lot of things that are interesting. So the opposite personality of that has generally succeeded. Eli Manning and Phil Sims and Joe Torrey and Mariana Rivera and Aaron Judge. One of the reasons I like Darnold so much with the New York Jets and the Giants had a chance and they passed is that in a city that provides so much excessive, excitement. It is easy to get caught up in it. I remember years ago, a friend of my Mike LaBardi, a former GM in the NFL said, if you are in a port city like Miami, Los Angeles, or New Orleans, draft more mature players. Because port cities have better restaurants and livelier nightlives and immature players will end up downtown every night, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. When the city provides excitement and energy and opportunity, I'm looking for a more adult, reticent, grown-up kid. I'm not blown away just by Donald's talent.

He has the perfect personality for the New York Jets. Ryan Leif came on our show and talked about that last week. For me, he's the best quarterback in this class to be able to deal with failure when things happen this season, because they're going to lose football games. He has the mentality. He's kind of got that Southern California swag to him. where he's just, he's kind of laid back.

He deals with day-to-day things, what he's got to improve on, but he's looked the most composed when it comes to dealing with things on the football field. And I assume we'll be when it comes to dealing with them off the field as well. Like in the NBA, it's hard to get into trouble in Oklahoma City.

It is easy to get in trouble in Los Angeles, in Miami, and New York, and Chicago, and Dallas. There's a lot of things to do. A lot of trappings. But in New York, Darnold is Eli Manning with some mobility. He's Phil Sims with, I think, more high-end talent.

He is the perfect guy to lead your team in a city where go ask O'Dell Beckham. It is easy to play to the crowd, play to the media, have a lot of fun, be a little bit of a little hot dog. That's what those cities provide. So I think Donald's going to be a home run, not just

his game, but his temperament for the Apple, for Gotham. Joy with the news. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Speaking of Gotham,

Sequin Barclay hasn't played since the Giants preseason opener against the Browns after he tweaked his hamstring a few days later. And he became a full participant in practice last week and expects to be good to go for the Giants opener against the Jaguars. Yeah.

We have some sound of him here again. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I definitely think I'm ready for a full load. The way I've been preparing, the lab and practicing. I mean, we got a whole bunch of great backs in our room. That's going to help us in that area, too. And I'm just excited for the game, excited to get the season's all. Now, you said earlier to LT, you're not sure if Sequin is really built like that to take that kind of wear and tear.

I don't think he's a 23 carry-a-game guy. I just don't. That's not what I see. When I see him, I see a lot of Reggie Bush, which I think he can give you 80. What's 80 times 16? like 1,200 yards. If I said Sequin Barkley gives you 86 yards a game. By the way, a couple punt returns, nice catch, out of the backfield, 13 to 15 carries.

What's 86 yards over 16? Do you even have a calculator? It's about 1,200 yards. Yeah, it gives me. So if he comes out and gives the Giants 1,280 yards this year in total offense, I'm totally okay with that. That's exactly. But that's why I always said about Reggie Bush.

Reggie'd give you one great punt return, two balls out of the backfield, give you 14 to 15 carries. But Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley can give you 27 carries, and then he can give it to you the next week and the next week. So if I could get 86 yards a game from Saquan Barclay, and he makes defensive coordinators be honest with the Giants, then he's worth a good pick. Is there any pressure on the Giants this year with Odell and Saquan

and then not taking Darnold and the new coach? And Eli Manning, because they were really bad last year. It's almost, here's the thing. This is what I'm about to say is an absolute lock. There's not a lot of locks in the NFL. The two teams that will improve the most in the NFL are the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants. That I'm absolutely sure of. O'N 16 is going to win six games.

What do the Giants go? Four and 12 last year or three and 13? They were awful. Listen, you can't upgrade in the NFL significant. significantly at left tackle, right guard, star receiver, running back and head coach. You cannot upgrade at those four to five positions and say, we're slightly better. Well, I mean, I think they're going to improve, but are there, you know, are there expectations? I mean, you say that they're your Super Bowl dark horse, so.

Oh, yes. Now, again, it's a lot of health. I actually think of all the improvements, the thing I worry about to Eli. I don't worry about the other stuff. I don't even worry about their defense. I just want to see Eli be a B quarterback again because he's been about a C quarterback the last four years. So Lakers head coach, Luke Walton, was apparently hanging out with Clay Thompson in Qatar for a school tour and a short vacation. So let's check this clip out. Luke Walton here, head coach for the L.A. Lakers.

Let's go Warriors. Let's go Warriors. We're having a great day. They're at QF. Spent some time with the horses. Now we're over in the foundation looking at all the different campuses. It's a beautiful program they had. I think they were also with Carmelo, Anthony, and Tracy McGready.

In Qatar? Yeah, hanging out. But, you know, this is obviously NBA free agency is talk all year round. Obviously not as intense is in the free agency period. But they know each other, obviously, from the Warriors and Luke being an assistant coach there. However, the Lakers made some big moves this weekend. They got rid of that Lou Al-Dang contract.

Oh, they did. Yes. What happened? I didn't hear that. So now, yeah, so now they have, next year, they're going to have $38.2 million in cab space. Whoa, whoa. I don't know.

Yeah, he agreed to give up $7.5 million of the $36.8 million. Who did? Lou Al-Dang. Yeah, so next year, the Lakers are going to have 38.2 million dollars in cap space. KD. Clay, Kauai, Kyrie, Kempba, Jimmy Butler. So Lou Al-Dang gave back over $7 million. $7.5, yes. I didn't even know that story. Where did you get? Are you sure? I'm pretty sure, yeah. Is that story, does that have a blue check on it? Yes. That is like a story. Yeah, well, I mean, it's football season. Football's back.

That Lou Al-Dang contract was terrible. Terrible contract. It was the worst in the league. Well, no more. Well, now for sure, Durant's coming to the Lakers. They can almost put that one to Are you going to lock that in? I'm not going to lock out of you. I'll give you some time to think about it. Okay. Finally, time now for the fantasy headline sponsored by Draft Kings. John Millman pulled off the upset of a lifetime over Roger Federer at the 2018 U.S. Open.

Yeah. That ended around 1 a.m. Eastern Time. So during his on-court interview, Millman had very good reasons why he needed to wake up in about six hours. It's one o'clock now. Probably you should try to get a recovery. I've got a 7 o'clock in the morning fantasy draft. So I'm going to get up for that. and hopefully have a good draft.

I'm second pick. I don't know whether to go Gurley or Levy on Bell. That's funny. It's tough decision, actually. Another reason to like Aussies. Levian may not be there. Yeah, take Gurley. He probably went with Gurley.

Unless Gurley might have meant number one overall on his job, though. Then you're kind of, who do you go from there? Do you play fantasy football? I do. Yes, I have a draft on Wednesday and I had a draft this Sunday. Really? Yeah. Who was the number one pick in your draft?

Oh, he took. Okay, I'm being told he took Levyon. He took Levyon. He's not going to be available. I mean, that's the risk you got to take you know, when you're over in Australia, you don't get the news for like four days. It's not, doesn't know that Labian's not going to play for a month. Okay. Yeah, I'm in two leagues.

All right. So I got, I got Kareem Hunt and LaShawn McCoy. I feel solid. You got shady? I have the fourth pick, yeah. Oh, the fourth pick. It's pretty good. That's pretty good.

I feel good about my team. So does everybody else at the beginning of the year. Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. Hey, if you didn't hear it earlier, my takeaway on Jim Harbaugh over the weekend was that I think Jim Harbaugh is still a very good coach, and most of you do not want to hear that. But I think what's happened, especially with the amplification of social media, where everybody just goes crazy every day about stuff that used to not make us crazy, Jim Harbaugh is still a great coach.

He was great when he won the Pioneer League twice. He was great at San Diego. He was great at Stanford. He was great with the 49ers. Could a should have won a Super Bowl. And by the way, he's like 28 and 18 at, you know, Michigan. But Saturday was a disaster. And when you make the kind of money he makes, his first year he was the highest paid coach, I believe in the sport.

And when you go out there self-promoting, which again, I don't begrudge the money, nor do I begrudge the self-promotion. But when you do, the standards change. And you can't go out Saturday night, first game, year four, and look overwhelmed. times absolutely lost. You can't. And I like him. I compared it earlier to a supermodel. You pay somebody $10 million.

They can't go down the runway during fashion week in Paris or New York and trip and fall. Now, if they do trip and fall, they're still beautiful, still have perfect skin. Clothes still look great on them. But you can't be a supermodel making $10 million. and in those heels trip and fall into the crowd, you're going to get criticized. That's, you're a super model, not just a model. And Jim Harbaugh is put himself out there. And again, his record, I'm looking at it now, he's 28 and 12 at Michigan.

He's 18 and 8 in conference. He's won five games against top 25 teams. But that, in year four, first game, that was a mess. I'll actually say this. The fact that Michigan was so over. overwhelmed at the line of scrimmage on the road against the top 15 team and only lost by a touchdown makes me believe they're going to reel off a bunch of wins, at least five until they face Wisconsin. Because if you just showed me highlights of that game, I'd have said, oh, they got they got run over by a UPS truck. I mean, it was that ugly.

And Notre Dame's a good team. Notre Dame was preseason like 12 or 13. Notre Dame's good. And Notre Dame was at home. And Notre Dame's got a good coach. And Notre Dame's got NFL players. They had two in the top ten last year. But that wasn't good enough.

And for those who want to blast me for loving Harbaugh, I deserve it. That was not good enough first game year for. Coming up, before you lock in your NFL predictions, there is a crazy NFL stat that you absolutely need to hear. And that is next in Best for Last. One more herd? 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. Pros in the nose, start with Lowe's and save 5% on eligible purchases. With Lowe's business credit account, 5% store savings, and online. Subject of credit approval cannot be combined with other credit offers.

C Store for details. U.S. only Lowe's. Well, you know that I make my NFL predictions, Joy, in... Oh, this is your first football season with me, so it'll be July. And then I'm allowed two amendments.

Not the free speech and the right to bear arms. My two amendments are I get to tweak my NFL predictions twice. I've already done it once. Today, this is my second amendment and the final amendment I can make with my NFL predictions. I am swapping the Cowboys and the Giants in the NFC East. Cowboys I had at 9 and 7, I'm putting them at 8 and 8. The Giants were 8 and 8. I'm putting him at 9 and 7.

Because... Good intel, good vibes, a Shermer connection, and I just... You just feel it? A little concerned with the Dallas O line not being completely 100% dialed in. That's what I'm a little concerned about. So that's worth a game. And I feel much better about the Giants O line than... I did two months ago.

I'm getting good intel. So now with that, that leads me to my best for last. After almost three hours, Colin apparently hasn't gotten to the point yet. Quit holding out on us, cowherd. It's the best for last. Now, I'm going to give you an amazing stat since 1990. That's 28 years. Football used to have huddles back then and fullbacks.

That's a long time. In each season, at least four, that's the minimum. In 28 years, at least four teams make the NFL playoffs that didn't make it the previous year. This is not the NBA. There's a ton of parity. Last season, Joy, eight teams made the playoffs that didn't make the playoffs the previous year. That's a quarter of the league. So I think there are six teams this year that are going to make the playoffs that did not make the playoffs last year.

And I'll get major pushback because this is just the way NFL fans are. But you know we're going to have a minimum of force. So I'm going to talk about each team that didn't make the playoffs last year, and I believe are going to make the playoffs this year. Let's just start with the New York Giants for, to me, very obvious reasons. Major upgrade at head coach, major upgrade at running back. major running upgraded left tackle and offensive line and O'Dell Beckham's back.

Now remember, this was an 11-5 team two years ago, and their offensive line is significantly better today, as is their head coach, than that team. I think this is the easy one. This is going to be, last year there were 3 and 13. Even Vegas says the over-under's 8 to 8.5. I'm predicting a 9-and-7 team and a team that squeaks into the playoffs.

If the NFC in their division wasn't so tough, I would not have a problem going 11 and 5 again. So the Giants are in. They weren't last year. Number two, again, I'm giving you the obvious ones to me, the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rogers is back. Okay, you got hurt last year in week six.

So that's a third the way through the season, and they just don't have the personnel. The other thing I really like is, you know, generally they have a first-place skis. schedule. They don't have a first place schedule this year. The other thing I like is they have upgraded the biggest problem with Green Bay over the last two years. They've been really weak in the back end. And they went out and they got with their first couple of picks, a couple of cornerbacks that I loved in college. They've also added tight-end Jimmy Graham, who's not a real

pounder, but that's okay. He can get vertical. He was a basketball player before he was a football All-Star. I think the Packers obviously are a team that didn't make the playoffs last year. Rogers is back. They're a playoff team this year. The other one, and I'm in the minority here, but the Indianapolis Colts, the AFC is weaker than the NFC. Andrew Luck missed the entire season. They also, again, and I defended them on this, they didn't waste any time going right back to the offensive line and helping Andrew Luck. My theory on this league is get the quarterback and then protect the quarterback. A house is no good if it doesn't have insurance. It burns down, you're out your money.

They went and got two guards, one Quentin Nelson, who could be a pro bowler really soon. And I think Jacksonville Jaguars take a step back. I think Tennessee Titans are still non-trustible. I think Houston will be good, but is Deshaun Watson going to be healthy? Andrew Luck carried a significantly worse roster than this one. to 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5. The Colts, to me, are a playoff team. After this, same division, the Texans, a lot of different issues.

J.J. Watt got hurt, week five. Deshawn Watson got hurt. He got hurt in practice after week seven. So remember, they didn't even get to Thanksgiving. I mean, they didn't get to November, and they were all beat up. Best offensive, best defensive player. You know, Bill O'Brien doesn't get a ton of credit because the way the NFL works is, you know, you got to, the coaches that have star quarterbacks win. If you really

examine Bill O'Brien, he's won with some young quarterbacks and some average quarterbacks. And again, I think the AFC is outside of Pittsburgh and New England is pretty much up for grabs. Texans did not make the playoffs. I think the Texans make the playoffs this year. The other one, and again, the Rams have done so much this offseason to get headlines. There are a lot of people that I talk to in the NFL still think the Chargers have a better roster. They lost four games by a field goal or less. The last two months of the season, I think they were the best team in the National Football League. In the last two years, here's a stat for you.

Philip Rivers, in the last two years, has the most passing touchdowns in the NFL. They added a tremendous center, pouncy from the Dolphins. Mike Williams, the rookie number one pick for them, the wide receiver, was hurt last year. He's back. They also went out and got Derwin James, and from all accounts, he is going to start and be a dominating force in the middle. I love their draft. And I got to be honest, I think that division's up for grabs. I don't trust Gruden.

Case Keenham's quarterbacking, Denver. And what do I really know about Patrick Mahomes? So I think the Chargers win that division didn't make. the playoffs, their playoff team this year. And finally, the one team in the preseason that I was like, wow, wow. And I don't get blown away by the preseason, the Baltimore Ravens. Remember, last year they went nine and seven. Five of those possessions were by one possession, games or less, okay? So they missed the playoffs last year by a last minute touchdown by Andy Dalton and the Bengals. And Joe Flacko is one of those guys.

We've got a history here. Joe Flacko is one of those guys, and he's kind of the opposite of Tom Brady. He plays himself into shape. But when he's motivated and pushed, remember the year he was, the contract year? He won the Super Bowl and was the MVP of the Super Bowl. He's looked really, really good in preseason.

I think Lamar Jackson's going to push him. So I think the Ravens, the Ravens John Harbaugh and the Ravens bounce back. So here are my teams. Remember, since 1990, a minimum of four teams make the playoffs that didn't the previous year. Last year it was eight. Here's my six. Giants, Packers, Colts, Texans, Chargers, and Baltimore Ravens.

It's not that I don't like the Cowboys. I didn't necessarily have the Cowboys getting in. Goulet, you're a cowboy fan. Offensive line, there's a couple stories there. Don't love. Well, luckily, they kept Frederick on the roster. Meaning they didn't put him on IR, so they do think he's going to possibly come back, which helps. But yeah, if Tyron Smith gets hurt again, I would agree with you.

But that was kind of disheartening. My prediction. Yeah, I don't like that. I didn't. I didn't like your hating. Have to deal with it. It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Cole Beasley is their number one receiver. I don't love their receiving core.

I think that's being overplayed. By the way, eight and eight in the NFC, that means by week 15, you're in a playoff race. You're probably in a playoff race. There's going to be a lot of nine and sevens in the NFC. Nobody's going 14 and 2 in the NFC. So this was my amendment, my last amendment. I mean, literally, I mean, great point.

What's a cupcake in the NFC? There's some cupcakes. Buffalo this year is a cupcake. That they are a complete and utter cupcake. I think the Raiders are going to get blown out a lot. The Browns are still the Browns, and Cincinnati is, you know, Cincinnati. So

the NFC, the difference 9 and 7, 8, and 8, and there's also you know, I just, Dallas, I looked out in the preseason and I'm like, boy, they're more relying on DAC. They fall apart real fast. If they ever had to go to a backup quarterback,

they're just not ready. Also, Ladany and Tomlinson, a Hall of Famer inducted in 2017. You know, a lot of players were on social media this week. Twitter and stuff, talking about Khalil Mack. Obviously, players

side with players. In this instance, I thought Khalil Mack gives you everything you want. Great player, key position, quality locker room guy, salary caps going up. You've got to pay for somebody. I mean, you don't have to be the L.A. Rams, but you've got to pay for somebody. And here was Lidane and Tomlinson earlier today.

It's about him. And you need players to win games. And he's going to find that out very quickly. All of a sudden, you know, you switch coaches and you have No dialogue. This is your best player we're talking about. How do you not reach out to him and say, hey, let's start a dialogue.

What are the issues? How can I help you? We want you to be here for a long time. The guy made the All-Pro team in both positions. Like, when has that ever been done? That opinion shared by most. For Joy and the crew, it's a herd. See you tomorrow.

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