The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Odell Beckham Jr, Antonio Brown, Tom Brady and the Presser Cooker!

Episode Date: September 11, 2019

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.'s watch saga continues to tick away needlessly and Colin argues that Odell's punishment for wearing a watch is justified. Also, Colin urges us all to hold off on buying into these "boy genius" head coaches in the NFL--most of them got outsmarted by veteran coaches in Week 1.  And FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt stops by to discuss various topics in college football's Top 25.  Finally, the Presser Cooker!  Other guests include: Nick Wright of FS1's First Things First, former NFL quarterback and Herd contributor Bruce Gradkowski and FOX Sports NFL analyst LaVar Arrington.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with and just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to listen to learn the hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast imagine an olympics where

doping is not only legal but encouraged it's the enhanced games some call it grotesque others say it's unleashing human potential either way the podcast's superhuman documented it all embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. Now let's get this party started. to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Wednesday. We are loaded.

This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in beautiful Los Angeles on Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy, Taylor, is joining me in a day. Nick Wright this hour, Joel Claddle Yell and scream at me next hour. LeBar Arrington in studio today as well. Joy, how are you? I'm great.

You and Joel were right about that Colorado game. We were, weren't we? I watched it on Fox, FS1. It was unbelievable. Yeah. So we start with a more somber tone today, a more serious story. Antonio Brown, the well-chronicaled wide receiver, Pittsburgh, Oakland, now New England, accused of rape in a civil lawsuit, three separate occasions, 2017 and 2018. I'll make this brief.

I have three thoughts on this. Number one, I never try to predict what unpredictable people are going to do. I've never quite understood Antonio Brown. If I was as talented as him and as fast as him, I would have stayed with Big Ben and the Steelers. He was not happy. I didn't understand it. They win.

They win their division. He made a lot of money. He scored a lot of touchdowns. Big Ben's arguably the best deep ball thrower in the league. And he wasn't happy. And then he went to Oakland where John Gruden loves receivers and Derek Carr's pretty good. And they were going to build the team around him. And then he did a bunch of silly stuff.

and the feet thing with a cryogenic stuff, and then the Instagram, and he seemed to be taunting his team, and I don't think that's smart. I would never taunt my business. I didn't get that. And with New England, I've said multiple times now, I have no idea what's going to happen. I think it'll work for a year maybe. But I guess my point is, people that are unpredictable, I stay out of predicting what they're going to do. I kind of know what Russell Wilson cares about in the morning, family football.

I kind of know what Tom Brady cares about in the morning, family football. Jared Goff, Andrew Luck. Certain personalities are very easy for me to predict. With A, B, I give up. I don't understand them. Number two is, in my business, and a lot of people, there's a lot of money to be made in being first on stories. I think you're better off being right,

but there's a lot of value in being first. You're a reporter. You break stories. And I obviously hope this story is not true for everybody's sake. but I'm not going to be first on this story. I'm going to be last. I'm going to let people cover this story that are in this sphere of this story and these accusations, and then I will contextualize it.

I've watched people in the media over the last two to three weeks speculate. A.B. needs mental health experts. I'm not going there. He's a genius. He created and manipulated the Raiders. I don't think that's true. So again, I'm going to be last on this one. And there have been a handful of stories in my life.

I felt the same way. I'm going to let people break the stories and figure this out. And then I'll contextualize it later. My third thing is, A.B., if you've listened to my show for 20, 25 years, whether it was in Portland, it was in Tampa, it was at the last place. It's at Fox. I've been pretty consistent on this. A.B. is not my kind of guy. He's more spectacle.

I'm more into substance. If you look at the athletes I like. I talked about Lamar Jackson yesterday. He just loves football. He appears to be coachable. I like him. Drew Breeze, football, family. I tend to like less spectacle and more substance.

Not a lot of sizzle, more substance. And with A.B., I get a lot of Instagram, and I get a lot of social media, and I get a lot of taunting of teams. And it's just not my thing. I'm more Julio Jones. I'm more Larry Fitzgerald. I'm more Andre Johnson. I'm more Calvin Johnson.

He's never been my kind of player or my kind of athlete or my kind of wide receiver in the NFL. Again, I hope these stories are absolutely, I hope it's resolved, I hope it's not true, but I'm not going to try to predict an unpredictable personality. I'm not going to be first on this story. And this is just another layered AB where I've never felt like he's a guy

that I can grow with and talk about. out and wrap my arms around for the next 20 years. A lot of short-term stuff. I like long-term athletes, the LeBron's and the Brady's, where I just like the way they do their business. And so that's my thoughts on this to start our show. I want to move to another star player in the NFL. And it got, boy, got Chris Carter all fired up this morning.

Odell Beckham. Odell Beckham wore a watch. And it did not apparently help in the win. He got probably going to get fined by the NFL. The NFL said you can't wear that. It's a hard object. And Odell Beckham said, if it's not one thing, it's another.

Exactly. Odell Beckham also said, I want to read this quote. It's always something. Yeah, Odell, exactly. Let's be honest here. This is self-inflicted. Odell, nobody's picking on you. The NFL once fined Brian Erlacker.

And at the time, I think he was the best defensive player in the league. Or certainly, he was a star. They find him $100,000 for wearing a hat at a media day. That feels like you're getting picked on. Colin Kaepernick was fined money because he wore headsets before a game that the NFL didn't approve. Those are intense and punitive fines. By the way, Brandon Marshall, I think, got fined for the law. wrong cleats. Cam Newton got

fined for a clip in a face mask. There have been sock fines, Alvin Kamara, cleats and socks. Uniform, i.e. uniformity. This is why Jimmy Buffett sued some ladies a year ago because they wanted to open up a

pizza place called Cheeseburger in Paradise. He's worth $700 million. They weren't worth anything. This is why McDonald sues people all the time if you come up with a restaurant that says muck before your restaurant. Little becomes big. Uniformity.

We're not going to allow something small because obviously you would set a precedent if OBJ wears a watch, somebody else wears another watch, somebody else wears clips, socks, cleats, hats, headphones. Nobody's picking on anybody. This is what big corporations do. It's called uniform.

Uniformity. They do it with airlines with their pilots, law enforcement and firemen, do it with their personnel. Chris Carter talked about this this morning. We have this battle in America, and we're seeing it now seep into sports. And I do think there are some sports, tennis, golf,

where it's about the person. I mean, Roger Federer can do whatever he wants. Serena can do whatever she wants. These are team sports. And Chris Carter, who played team sports, doesn't like the direction of OBJ or where sports are sometimes headed. The rules apply to everyone.

And this is how you see guys they gradually get into other stuff. You know, because, oh, I don't care about a $5,000 fine. I don't care about a $20,000 fine. I don't care it's $100,000 fine. Why wouldn't you care? It's a distraction to your teammates. To me, it don't make sense.

It just speaks to how selfish, how much individuals that they are. You disregard being on a team and what we have signed up. We're all supposed to be going in this car, in the same direction together. But to you, it don't matter. It is the constant battle now, individual over team.

I do think they're individual sports. Grab a tennis racket, a golf club. I'm for it. In team sports, I'm a team guy. I like winning over individualism. And it's a constant battle now, and it's not going away. Speaking of watch, here is something, actually, that has to do with football that you should watch this Monday.

when the Browns, oh and one, go on the road to face the jets. You may want to watch this story. Baker Mayfield had his lowest passer rating when throwing to Odell Beckham. This is what happened with Tony Romo and Des. This is what happened with Big Ben and AB. You often see the star receiver,

kind of high maintenance, demanding the football, or he's disruptive, and the talented quarterback, Ben Romo and Baker Mayfield, therefore forcing the ball to O'Dell Beckham. I'll say it again. I think O'Dell's going to have great moments in Cleveland. I think Jarvis Landry will be there next year, the following year, and the following year.

I don't think O'Dell Beckham, watch that, will be there perhaps even next year. By the way, the Patriots, it should be noted. They wear jewelry, too, after winning another Super Bowl in February. I'm not anti-jewelry. I'm not anti-trophy. I'm not anti-ring. You get them when you win in January and February.

Coming up next, I thought it was interesting. We talked a lot about this, and it's kind of fun to watch. There's a lot of new young football coaches in the NFL. And I think schematically, I think they're sharp. I think they're very sharp people. But it's interesting about all the young guys this weekend. Did you notice what happened? That's coming up.

There are a lot of underwear brands out there, a lot. And 75% of people, this is like a high percentage. Men and women are dissatisfied with their underwear, which is weird because you can change that, right? Like every day, you could go to the store. my hunch is they haven't tried Tommy John, the revolutionary underwear brand, upgraded over one million lives. They don't just claim to be the most comfortable. They have the stats to back it up.

Over 7 million pairs of Tommy John underwear have been sold with 96% of their customer ratings, four or greater. The legs never right up, the waistbands never roll down. Tommy John is more than underwear. They've got 750 products online. The Super Soft lounge wear, I wear that regularly at night. Polo shirts, they have apparel. Every detail.

1,200 retail locations across the country as well. Nordstrom stores nationwide have it. Tommyjohn.com. promo code's heard H-E-R-D for 20% off your first order. Be sure to catch live editions of the The HARD weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice

Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Good to have you in. Car shopping can be very confusing, a lot of different terms. I save three grand off MSRP. That's the national average if you go to truecar.com and check out their true price. You know, this past year, anybody who ever had a milkshake with Sean McVeigh of the Rams got a head coaching job. All the boy geniuses moved into the NFL. They are going to take over the league.

and the current scoreboard on all the boy geniuses is one win, six losses, one tie. Not great. The only win went to the rookie head coach that had Aaron Rogers, and even their offense didn't look very good. There is a massive difference between being smart and being able to handle an NFL head coaching job because it's not just about schematics. It's about dealing and massaging the ego's owner. You've got to deal sometimes as a coach with an eccentric owner, some owner that's always got its way.

You've got to deal with players' personal crises and issues. I talked to an NFL coach one day, one time, who on a Friday night before they got on the plane was on the phone with a player's girlfriend about wanting a new SUV. He said to himself, that was the last conversation I wanted to have. That's the reality of being a head coach. Landmines everywhere, bureaucracy, everywhere, media responsibilities. Being a coordinator is about being smart. Josh McDaniels is smart. He couldn't build a culture.

Pat Schumer is smart in New York. But is he building a culture? I don't know how smart Pete Carroll is. But man at USC and the Seahawks, he's great at building cultures. Okay? That's the difference. This weekend, you know who did really well? Who were the five best-looking teams in the NFL?

Minnesota looked great. Mike Zimmer is 63. The Ravens looked unbelievable. John Harbaugh in his 12th year. The Patriots dominated Pittsburgh. Belichick's closer to 70 than 60. The Chiefs scored on their first seven possessions. Andy Reed is 63.

And oh, by the way, although he looks 21 years old, Jason Garrett of the Cowboys, ninth year, mid-50s, dominated. The five best-looking teams in the NFL had guys whose average age was somewhere between 59 and 61. The boy geniuses were one, six, and one. Because there are two different skill sets on being a coordinator, Norv Turner is great at that, Wade Phillips is great at that. And being a head coach, Pete Carroll, Belichick, John Harbaugh, Andy Reid, they're great at that.

Big difference. A position coach can sometimes be only responsible for two players, quarterback coach. A coordinator sometimes only responsible for 11. an NFL head coach is not only responsible for 53, but he's got a crazy impulsive owner, intense local and national media. He's got to deal with both coordinators, every major player crises.

It is the Grand Canyon. It is much easier to go position coach to coordinator than coordinator to head coach in the NFL. Sean McVeigh, Everybody's like, oh, McVeigh, it's not McVeigh's schematics that are amazing. What's amazing about Sean McVey is a kid in his early 30s can change the culture of the Rams overnight. That's his success. It's not that he's calling and play.

Their offense is actually, if you watch the Rams, and I've seen every snap now for three years, it's a fairly repetitive offense. They do the same stuff over and over. But his ability to connect with veterans, free agents, rookies, and create this culture, very pro player, yet very responsible and team first, that to me is the secret sauce with Sean McVeigh. Not that he's smart. I tell people all the time in my business who do the hiring. Oh, I got to hire smart people. I said, are they smart enough to be good on television?

because I work in a big TV company. I'm looking for smart enough to be good on TV. I don't want Harvard guys who are stiff on TV. And so this idea of all these boy geniuses moving in, the five old guys in the league, they look great. The experience guys, Garrett, Harbaugh, Andy, Belichick, they look great. Young boy geniuses, one-one, because he has Aaron Rogers.

Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Tyreek Hill had a clavicle injury during the Chiefs week one win over the jags. Yeah, how is that now? Well, he's expected to miss four to six weeks. Okay, that's not as bad as I thought.

Right. It's a good sign for Kansas City. Obviously, a same injury that happened to Nick Foles, but he broke his clavicle. It's just an injury. Okay, so he did not break his. He did not. So, well, I'm assuming he didn't because he's going to be back in four to six weeks and Nick Foles is not. So it's a good sign for the Chiefs.

So you don't have to place him on the IR. The next four games are the Raiders, Ravens, Lions, and Colts. And then they have, so at the Raiders, Ravens at home, at the Lions, Colts at home. Texans at home. Their schedule is. Yes, they got a break. That's the opposite of a lot of these schedules. Like the Raiders schedule for the next six weeks is daunting.

That's a good schedule. Raiders and Browns. I mean, well, their division is tough. And then it picks up after that. So after the Colts, they have the Texans and then at the Broncos. So that's about week seven when they'll expect him back at the year. is out all six weeks. I'll be back for the Broncos game. Obviously, a huge piece for them to lose, but Sammy Watkins was big against Jacksonville, 198 yards and three touchdowns. And, you know,

Travis Kelsey is obviously still there as well. So I don't expect their offense to take a huge step back. Obviously, you can't replace the receiver like Tyree Kill. But this is good news that it's only four to six weeks as opposed to the situation that Jacksonville's in where he's out. Although I'm kind of interested to see what their backup quarterback did because he just stepped right in there. He did, didn't he? Yeah. I just spoke. Okay, let's pick up where we left off.

So, Sean Watson and the Texans had a rough outing on Monday in New Orleans. Great game, by the way. Oh, God. I love both those teams. Like, as teams that I don't naturally root for, like, don't have any vested interest in. They are. The Saints are always fun. It's just the city and just the vibe of that team.

And, I mean, who doesn't love the Sean Watson? And that's why we'd like to not see him get sacks so many times, six times, and then hit 11 against the Saints. And he also went airborne in the end zone. and head coach Bill O'Brien reiterates that Sean Watson is fine. We ran that play down there on fourth down, and he kind of got flipped into the air. Yeah, he just landed. It's nothing that's going to keep him out. Just treatment.

It's just normal bumps and bruises, just like every player in the game has. Yes, Bill, but he's not every player in the game. He's your quarterback. Sort of the franchise, actually. Your quarterback going airborne in the end zone is not the same thing as every other. position on that team. I'm with you. I fear now. Now that we have a precedent set with Andrew Luck of an incredible all-time talent being worn down because they don't have the protection that they need. It's kind of, you know, I don't want to say a dark cloud, but it's just something that will

stick in our minds when we see a top talent like Sean Watson not having the protection that he needs. And it's very well, I mean, hopefully not, but I mean, you saw what happened with the Cleveland Browns. Listen, this is not easy for Deshaun because, you know, it's like Kobe Bryant. You love his confidence. He would shoot. He could go 0 for 12 and want the ball. And then there were times you're like, Kobe, stop shooting.

So when you have gifted athletes, there's that line between confidence and arrogance. Right. Give me the ball and pass it occasionally. Michael Jordan had to be talked into with Phil Jackson. You could score 60, but you're going to win titles if you occasionally pass. And Michael's like, yeah, he's a smart guy. I got it. Deshawn needs to run.

Let's not make this into Deshawn Watson should not run. He is an incredible athlete better than Andrew Luck was. So my thing with him is let's not forget that an element of what makes him special is the ability to peel off runs. It's just that end them quicker. Slide out of bound. It's not don't run. Just end the run.

Instead of 14 yards, get 11. Slide. He is an incredible. athlete and he had 40 rushing yards against the Saints. But more than him, like, I have no concern about him running and him cutting the run shorter. He just also needs protection. I mean, he can't be getting hit like that. I mean, talked about it the other day. We don't want to see a situation where his career is cut short because they didn't put the pieces in place to give him some help. Finally, the AP released their college football rankings for week three and Clemson is still in the

top spot. LSU showcased some offensive firepower, 4538 and a win over Texas. putting them at number four ahead of Oklahoma. Yeah. LSU is the third SEC team in the top four. I'm putting LSU number one. I thought LSU looked amazing. To go on the road, LSU can pass now. They couldn't pass my entire last decade.

They could do everything but pass. LSU can throw the ball now. I'm like, like I watched LSU. I was like, oh, they can beat Alphabet. They were impressive. Oh, they can't. LSU did everything right for 10 years. They can't pass.

This is like a grown-up pass offense. I love Oklahoma this year, too. Nebraska dropped out of the top 25 that lost to Colorado in overtime, and USC found its way back in eating Stanford, 4520. Freshman quarterbacks playing out of his mind. He was like a three-star recruit. They just put him in. He set every record at USC for a freshman.

It's been shocking. It's good to see. Texas dropped three spots, obviously, after that lost LSU as well. Good stuff. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. I do not believe the world's picking on OBJ.

I don't. And my takeaway is listen. The NFL is a big corporation. In corporations, McDonald's, Jimmy Buffett's corporation, IBM, they're into uniformity. And if you let people wear a watch here, it becomes something else. As I said, they find Brian Erlacker $100,000 for wearing the wrong hat at a media day, which sounds absurd to me. I don't remember a ton about the story, but cleats and.

and face mask clips and socks and Alvin Kamara. This is just what corporations do. I mean, Delta pilots. They can't have their own pins. You know, this is what big corporations do. I don't think they're picking on it, but my guy, Nick Wright, loves OBJ via the Coward Global Satellite Network. All right, Nick, I know you are a defender often of OBJ.

I relish the opportunity to hear you today. What do you make of the watchgate? Listen, it's not that I do like OVJ, but that has nothing to do with this. I like fairness and truth, and that is being missed on this story enormously. First of all, you just alluded to it right there. No one actually has a problem with O'Dell wearing a watch. There's a rule against it. There's a penalty for it.

If O'Dell were saying, and I will not pay the fine, then I would get it. But you violate the rule, you pay the penalty, you move on. But even in your preamble here, you couldn't really art, as brilliant as you are, and you know how brilliant I think you are. Yeah. You couldn't exactly articulate why it's bad. What you had to go to, and you've heard me say this before, was the feeblest argument, which is the slippery slope. It's, well, you allow this and next, they'll be marrying refrigerators.

Do you want that? No. You let him wear a watch. Who's to say they're going to wear pants next? Okay. Here's the deal. of every player in the league this weekend, who was targeted as much as Odell,

he was the only one without a drop. Okay, so we can't criticize his performance. After the game, Baker said something a little wacky. We played that sound. Jarvis said something a little wacky. We played that sound. Why didn't we hear the Odell sound? Oh, because he didn't say anything wrong.

Okay, so they lost by 30, but it wasn't because his performance. He reacted fine. We got to tick down the list because it's Wednesday, and Odell hasn't been criticized yet. Holy bleep he's wearing a watch and he might wear it again. What's next? Will he check the

time during the game? Could he be late? What if he doesn't adjust the time? It's ridiculous. People are looking for a reason to be mad. Now, I would argue the reason I'm talking about this story is Odell because he is more fascinating. That I

agree with. He is newsworthy. He just is. His one-end catch, his personality. He's globally relevant in that space. But there are uniforms and there are, I mean, this league is, I mean, I've seen baseball do. They're baseball teams where you can't have a mustache. I mean,

you know how sports is. Historically, it's been kind of conservative with old rich guys who are conservative and they have CBAs and rules. You do get, though, that certain times there are uniformity issues and a watch is a,

it's bad, you can't. Yes, I of course. Listen, he should be fined for it. It is against the rules and he is knowingly breaking the rules. The point I am making is the reaction to it borders on hysterical only because it's him, which is probably why he's wearing it in the first place. Because it does help his brand. It will make him more money than it costs him, but it doesn't actually hurt the team at all.

With Odell, so much of this is a snake eating its tail. Why is it a distraction? It's a distraction because we're talking about it. Why are we talking about it? Because it's a distraction. By the way, for the argument, well, now his teammates have to answer questions about it. If I just got dog walked by 30,

I'm glad I'm being asked about the watch instead of why I threw a pick six in the fourth quarter if I'm Baker Mayfield. Alvin Camara wore a $100,000 grill designed by my friend Johnny Dang. No one cares. You know why? because it's Alvin Camara. Maybe I'm wrong, Colin.

Maybe I'm conspiracy theorist. But if Odell were to have worn that grill, which is within the rules, and Camara had worn the watch, you know what I think the story is? It's no longer about uniform violations. It's about Odell again, and now it's Odell.

Why does he wear the grill? Why? I just, we are going to find something. The only cure for Odell is going to be them winning games, which is why the Cleveland Browns, oddly enough, face a long. must win game against your beloved Sam Darnold on Monday night. And I think they'll win, actually. So the Patriots yesterday, I saw a story.

At this point, I'm not sure why anybody does trades with Bill Belichick. The Jets picked up. You live in New York, Demarius Thomas, who's been heard a lot, hasn't played a lot recently, been on a couple of different teams. You know, I told the staff this morning, it's like he's made a trade now with every NFL team. He generally picks on weaker organizations. You know, he got Randy Moss from Oakland. Chandler Jones will make a deal with Arizona.

He likes making deals with Cleveland, you know. And I looked at the Jets and I thought, oh, he just took the Jets to the cleaner. That was my initial take. How about you? Well, to the cleaners is maybe the wash and fold because all he got was a sixth round pick. Yeah, I mean, he got, he did what he very often does, which is takes an asset, buys it at X and somehow sells it at 2X, even if, The asset is not appreciated at all. I think the Brandon Cook's trade to me, and I don't think New Orleans nor the Rams are dumb

organizations. But you look at Brandon Cooks, he trades the 29th pick or the 31st pick for Brandon Cooks, gets a year of production out of him and then flips him for the 23rd pick. By the way, those were good trades for the Saints and good trades for the Rams. They just happened to be two great trades for the Patriots. Yeah, listen, he's better at this. than everybody. And he understands that he actually is not better at drafting than everyone, because drafting is mostly guessing. So the best way to be the best, it's like being the best

lottery picker. There is no such thing. But if you have the most tickets, you're going to have the best chance at winning. He just makes sure he always has extra tickets. And he has other organizations that are going to be desperate. And he takes advantage of that because he's never desperate. That's by, by the way, that's one of your great analogies. I may have to steal that. is that there are no great lottery. I've made a small empire stealing from you, so it would be my pleasure to finally have it go in the other direction. I think that's brilliant, actually.

There's no lottery pickers. The draft is mostly a lottery, so just have the most tickets. That is, we should just stop the show. There's no reason to continue. But I have to fill time and I have advertisers. All right, Cam Newton said this. Cam Newton went to the mic, and he was talking about how this past week, Christian McCaffrey became the focal point of the Panthers.

and here's Cam Band being funny about it. I think coach got C-Mack up for Fantasy this week. I think he picked C-Mack for fantasy. I think that's what it is. Dog on Norvna picked C-Mack for fantasy, man. I should have went over and seen who he was drafting and his lead. That's probably why we ain't doing no feet passes, right? Because he didn't pick me for his quarterback.

That's all making sense. Let me ask you, though. R is the message by the Panthers moving more toward McCaffrey. Is it the same message the Vikings are sending to Kirk Cousins? We don't want to rely on you, but we are paying you. And it's interesting. Now, we know that Cam's way more talented than Kirk Cousins. But is this messaging that Cam win this year,

we don't want to be so reliant on you that when you leave, we're beholden to you. That's kind of my takeaway on the McCaffrey, you know, substance and carries. What do you make of it? I'll be honest, before you just said it, I hadn't considered in that context. What I read into it is this, right now, this moment, Christian McCaffrey is the best player on this team. Now, as Cam gets fully healthy, as Cam, by the. the way, who missed a lot of the off season because of the surgery and then missed two weeks of training camp because of the foot injuries suffered against the Patriots, as Cam gets fully

polished, if you will, he could ascend past McCaffrey. But I think right now, McCapry's the surest thing they have. You mentioned Kirk Cousins and you meant, it kind of alluded to money. It should be noted. In today's NFL, Cam is a positive bargain at quarterback. I think he's right now at $20 million a year, which is below Nick Foles money. And the Panthers shouldn't be devastated about week one, but they should be disappointed. I'm sure you watch that game as closely as I did. Yep. Three fumbles in the first half between the two teams. The Rams recover all of them. Cam missed some passes. The Panthers missed a field goal. This was a game where the Rams were ripe to be beaten. Yes. And the Panthers could not take advantage of it. Like,

That should have been a week one home win for the Panthers that propels them. Now, they're scheduled the next, I heard you talking about Can't City's schedule. The Panthers scheduled the next seven weeks is incredibly fortuitous for them. Yes. They have to win tomorrow night, though. You win on Thursday at home against a Tampa team where you don't know which side James is going to be playing for. Take the extended. They should be like they were last year, five and two through seven weeks.

You just hope Cam is healthy through seven weeks. And then you see where they can go from. there. Good stuff. Nick Wright, first things first. Also, what's right? Radio Show, Sirius XM 82. Good seeing you, bud. You too, brother. Talk to you guys later. Yeah. I really did like that analogy. I thought that was

absolutely brilliant. He's got it right. The draft for New England, it's a guess. So just have the most, like the lottery, just have the most tickets. If you're New England. Your other teams, I don't really believe in hoarding up draft picks. Yeah. But New England's, they're not great at drafting. They're really not. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

So the more that you have, the better They've actually been very good at taking players in the league, the West Welkers, and putting you in our system. But you look at their draft picks. I mean, they don't whiff on their first pick. They don't do much in the fifth, six, seven, throw. They're not like Seattle where Pete Carroll, like, maybe because he coached college, has a real understanding of the draft. I mean, Pete's got more. Pete's struggled with his first pick.

Pete's been great on his second, third, fourth, and fifth picks on the draft. But there's also just certain organizations that are. draft really well at certain positions, like the Steelers with wide receivers. And maybe that's a testament to their scouting department more so than, you know, the head coach or the system. Like, you can have good scouts and good evaluators within your organization. But I don't, I don't believe in hoarding up draft picks if that's not how you do things. Good stuff. Coming up next, there is a cultural change in sports.

And I've been around covering sports for a long time. I'm not a huge fan of it. So I'm going to have to handle it, though, for the next 20 years I do this for a living. I don't look forward to it, but it's become my reality. And I'll talk about that reality coming up next. Listen, few things in life can ruin your day, like a check engine light coming on, had it happen a month ago, coolant issue, million things going through your head. Is my car going to explode?

Is it going to catch fire? For the record, I had a car catch fire in Las Vegas. I was on the freeway. I had to get off on Charleston Avenue, go to a car. Texaco, it burst into flames. I'm not lying. It was an old car. I've got a newer one now. Carsheel.com, when your warranty runs out, okay? When your warranty runs out, you want extended protection.

You don't want an $800 bill because a sensor light went out. You sign up at car shield.com. You put in the code herd. You get 10% off immediately because you put in the code herd, H-E-R-D. Get a rental car for free, roadside assistance for free. Some Midwest company, $2 billion in claims. a deductible now may apply, but it's extended vehicle protection. They have a noon phone number. Very, very easy to remember.

800 car 6,000. 800 car 6,000. Similarly, put in the code herd and get 10% off. You don't want high repair bills. Warranties generally run out at about three years. Carsield.com code H-E-R-D. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough

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

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app,

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

Come on my quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the. I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. You know, there are a lot of new things I really like. You ever heard of DoorDash?

Instead of making dinner, you can just call somebody and they stop buying and they give you dinner. Like, it's awesome. I love DoorDash. They also call it like, isn't it called? There's a lot of different companies. Yeah. Like Postmates, DoorDash.

Uber eats. Yeah, like there's a lot. I love. So let me tell you the new things I like. I love DoorDash. I love Uber. When I get home every day, I never get in my car. I just call Uber.

Why would I get in my car? I want to go out, have dinner. I don't want to worry about parking spaces in Manhattan Beach. It's too crowded. There's a lot of new stuff. I mean, I've got tech all over my life. I got social media. The TVs I use or don't use.

I like new stuff. I'm willing to try new stuff all the time. My wife and I make a point of getting into new technology if for no other reason that I monitor our kids and know what they're doing. So I'm not crazy old grumpy guy. But there is something in sports that's happening and it's not going away. and I'm not a huge fan of it. When I watch tennis or golf,

I'm watching an individual, Serena Phil Mickelson. But when I watch team sports, I like the community. I like it. I like the team thing. I like that Dak Prescott rarely talks about DAC.

He always talks about team. I like Drew Breeze in his pregame speeches directed at the team. I can like both separately. I've said this before. I like ice cream and I love tuna

I don't like tuna fish ice cream. I like individual sports where I can pick a player, Roger Federer, and be really into him. And I like team sports where I like the jersey and the city means something. But increasingly, team sports are being taken over by individual guy. I don't like it. It's a new thing I don't like. Yesterday, Julian Edelman, who can be a very funny guy, had this Superman thing on Instagram, and it put Tom Brady in a Superman outfit for his performance on Sunday.

And Brady followed back saying, I'll be better next week. It's so refreshing to me that in a world where so many marginal guys want to tell you how great they are, the greatest NFL player ever is often telling you how average he was. I found Kauai Leonard refreshing. He engineered a massive trade in the NBA. He didn't tell anybody but Jerry West. He was a team guy. He plays both ways.

His brand is stealth. He engineered a trade and didn't tell anybody. By the way, team still matters. The St. Louis Blues won the NHL Stanley Cup, had far fewer stars than the Bruins. Patriots win, not because of talent. It's the team thing. The Raptors?

It was a team thing. Alabama's dynasty has had one great. quarterback Tua. It's mostly been about depth, defensive front sevens, dominating offensive lines. The team thing wins in team sports. One of the reasons I like Dak, every time Dak steps to the microphone, it's about us, it's not about me. It's happening. I know it's happening. I have to deal with it happening, but I don't have to love every new thing. Let's Listen, I like the NBA. I hated when they forced players to play with a new ball.

I thought that was stupid. Wouldn't you ask the players? That was a new thing, I thought, made no sense. I didn't like when they started wearing sleeves in their uniforms. I'm like, I'm a basketball player. I want to be free. Like, there's a lot of new stuff. By the way, the NFL introduced that new catch rule years ago.

I hated it. I couldn't figure out what a catch was for like six years in the league. I am a fan of new stuff. I like to try new stuff. I think one of the mantras of our show is evolve or die, right? But not everything new is great. I like the team construct of sports, college and pro. I mean, like, you know, we all want to pay college athletes, and I get it.

I get the digital rights. But people that go to Kansas basketball and Syracuse basketball, they've been selling out those stadiums for 100, those arenas? for 100 years. They're not going for the players. They're going for the team. They're going for the jersey. They're going for the alma mater,

the plaque on the wall. Then you can pay the players whatever you want. But Alabama football, they've been selling out every game for 75 years. And that's one of the things I like about college football.

If you want to pay the players, go for it. I don't care. Especially digital stuff, Jersey sales. Write on big fat checks. But I do like the identity of college sports, which is about the alma mater

and about going there and the unity and their young kids. And I kind of like that. I know I sound like an old guy. I kind of like that. And by the way, the NBA tends to be more individual, but I will tell you that if you really look at the Miami Heat, it was a hell of a team. And Shaq and Kobe had a great coach and great shooters and great. So even in the NBA, which is considered the individual sport, well, if that was true, then LeBron would win the title every year. It was actually Golden State adding another great player to their team that dominated this.

And I get it. I get the watch. I get the Instagram. You know, my daughter's on that stuff. We have, you know, weekly discussions. I get it. I'm not grumpy old fart. And I do like a bunch of new stuff.

But I love, I really, really love this. That Tom Brady's the greatest ever. And his messaging is constantly, I got to get better. We need to do this. There's a million athletes out there that are just so marginal. I mean, nothing against OBJ. But, I mean, in his last 20 games, he's won like seven. I mean, but I have to realize that some things in life, you know, I moved to L.A.

I knew I'm going to deal with traffic. All right. I moved to L.A. My taxes go up. So I can sit there and yell and scream about it. But, you know, it's not going anywhere. This is what we got. Guys wearing watches.

That's the future of sports, I guess. Coming up, Joel Clatt and I will yell at each other. One of the things, I'm going to talk more about the watch and Odell Beckham, because there is one thing where I think he's making a big mistake here, and I think it's a mistake that happens all the time, and I don't blame him for it. There's one thing about Odell's watch and the Instagram stuff that I don't blame him for, and that's coming up.

On average, a burglary happens once every 23 seconds in the United States. Get Simply Safe. Simplysafe, Collin.com. free shipping 60-day money-back guarantee. Hour 2 next. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about. How healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

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

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Ah, here we go, hour two. Joel Clanton, five minutes. You know who else is on the show today? Bruce Brzez, Bruce Radkowski, was a quarterback in the NFL forever. Excited to talk to him because that guy's been around. the league. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

Joy Taylor is joining me. First hour flew by. Briefly touched on AB. Talked a lot of Odell Beckham. Nick Wright stopped by. It's good to have you in. By the way, tomorrow I make my college football picks marquee three. Friday I make my NFL picks Blazing Five. We had a winning week, week one, Blazing Five. By the way, it's funny. I can kind of tell early in the week. It's a good week. It's a bad week. I did not have the highest hopes last week. There was a bunch of weird numbers. This week, I could bet eight games. Love it. Well, you didn't really know what to expect from a lot of teams. And it turned out that we got a lot of the unexpected. So I can see why you would be a little hesitant. Yeah. Before we get to Joel Clatt, you know, there's the watch issue.

Now, Odell Beckham's come out. I'm wearing a watch. I'm going to keep wearing a watch, and I don't care if there's fines. I'm not a big fan of that at all. I think Freddie Kitchens today is going to have to answer questions about watch management. Coaches should worry about clock management. It's not my cup of tea, but whatever. I do think Cleveland will win this week. You know, here's the thing with O'Dowell Beckham, is that he is an Instagram influencer. That means he goes to Instagram and he can move people and he's very influential. And I get it. I'm for that.

I think it's great. The problem is he's become more of an Instagram influencer than a football influencer. Last 17 games, he's been on the winning team four times. You know, there's a lot of people in the world today that are what they call Instagram influencers, that they can move products. A lot of times you see this from the beautiful 23-year-old. She's at her pool at the apartment complex, and she's an Instagram influencer, and that's great, but that's all she does, right? Like, he is a superstar professional athlete.

So as long as he realized, his LinkedIn page should be football player, Instagram influencer. I just feel like the last two years it's been Instagram influencer, football player. And I think, once again, he's playing to brand. over team playing to brand over week one. Owen one must win. I would not add any distraction. This is what I talked about, though. We are in the world of individuality, and I'm for it in a lot of sports. I'm not for it in football. I'm not even really for it in basketball, because in my life, teams have won. A Wilk Chamberlain's arguably the most talented player ever.

He didn't win a lot of titles because he was flaky and hard to play with. Michael Jordan was a ball hog when Michael finally relinquish. possession of every ball down the stretch, Michael won. Michael actually became a very good, he was a great defender. He became a better passer. He shot less, passed more. So Michael was a great individual player, but it was when Phil Jackson convinced him to be a team player, pass the ball, Kerr, Paxson, Pippen, that Michael won.

Before that, he just averaged 37 a night and couldn't get out of the first round. So Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, these are great team players. They just happen to be individually gifted. So the other thing is, one of the things I'm proud of is, is over the course of 20 years, I'm proud of my audience. Not only of the staff and everybody here, I'm proud of the, if I was a politician, it would be called my base, my base supporters. They make more than the average talk show host base. We have a very diverse audience, men, women. I'm very proud of that.

I think if you become an Instagram follower, your base is the shallowest people in the world who care what watch you wear and what you eat for lunch. I mean, if you really care about celebrities, lunches, I can't help you. It's not a great life. But if you want to appeal to that group and you can make some money on it, you know, I just think he's a football influencer. And in the last two years, it feels like he's more of an Instagram influencer than a football influencer. And I don't like it. I don't think it's good. And the other thing is, listen, I've been covering these sports long enough.

I've seen this whole act like 20 times. 18, 19 times it's ended poorly. It ended poorly for Ocho. You know, it ended poorly for T.O. Who was begging to get on reality shows. We know how this is going to end, right? Like, we know it's not going to end perfectly. It's funny about we think about the wide receiver as being a, you know,

a little bit of a diva wide receiver position, right? But it's really interesting. If you go back, the first great wide receiver of my life was Lynn Swan. He was kind of a quiet, good team player. And it was, you know, I think the next most amazing, and I'm not going in perfect chronological order here, but then it was like a Jerry Rice. Jerry was kind of understated.

All I knew about him is he used to run hills in San Francisco, and they used to do stories on him. I grew up with Steve Largent. By the way, the last three or four great receivers, Leo Jones, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson. Most of the great receivers have been actually fairly qualified. very reluctant, very reticent to get involved with stuff. There have been some flashy ones,

but I have found over the course of my life, the Debo-wide receiver, it doesn't end well. It doesn't. The classy wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, Julio Jones, they just keep getting those massive direct deposits. They're beloved by teammates. They're beloved by one team. I mean, Arizona, Larry Fitzgerald could run for governor.

I mean, Julio Jones, he is Mr. Atlanta. So I worry that sometimes OBJ is, I don't think it'll end well. He's more in the Instagram that I wish he was. By the way, the other thing I want to talk about here briefly, so the Patriots, they made a trade for, they traded Demarius Thomas, the injured receiver to the Jets yesterday. And my first takeaway was, oh boy, the Jets. got a host. It's funny about this. Belichick has now made a trade with every NFL team. But if you look

at what Belichick does a lot of, not exclusively but primarily, he picks on the weaker organization. Akeeb Talib from Tampa Bay, Wes Welker from the Dolphins, Randy Moss from Oakland, Corey Dillon from the Bengals. Jets, Lions, Cleveland, Arizona. He wanted, by the way, A.B. He couldn't get him from the Steelers.

He went and got him from Oakland. This league often talks about parity. And a lot of it's true. I mean, you have to have a good quarterback. There is a lot of parity. There is not intellectual parity in this league. Andy Reid was so smart. Remember what Andy Reid did with Donovan McNabb at the end? He was washed up.

He goes to Washington in his division. Got a second round pick for him. Belichick looks at organizations that do not have elite structure. Look what they've done with Jamie Collins. They draft him. They pay him nothing. He's about to get expensive. They move him to Cleveland.

Cleveland pays him a fortune. He doesn't work. Bill goes and gets it back this year, pays him a nickel, and he's great again. Like this, there is no intellectual parody in this league. there are just simply smarter people, the Andy reads and the Belichick's, and they just keep working people. Joel Clatt putting some makeup on to look perfect. You might as well, because you are going to be under fire here, Joel Clatt. Why? Why am I under fire?

It's just one game. By the way, you and I, we were on that Colorado over Nebraska thing. What is this we? I was on it, and you were like, that's not an upset. I was telling you it was, and then they won. whatever. I don't remember. So Nick Saban said something.

Can you play the tape on Nick Saban? Because I saw this yesterday. Let's play this, and I want Joel Clatt to react to this, Mr. College Football at our network. Here's Nick Saban grumpy this week. I'd rather play 10 SEC games and then play two other Power 5 schools. So all the games are exciting for the fans. All the games are good football.

You wouldn't have to go undefeated to get into playoffs because you'd play a more quality schedule. I've been through. covered that ground a hundred times. We're playing the best teams that we can get to play us. Why don't you start calling around and see if you can get somebody else to play us and we'll play them. We'll play anybody you can get to play us. Okay, time out. When USC was throttling people, Pete Carroll always got Auburn, Virginia Tech, Ohio State. It's funny, Pete Carroll's phones must be different than Nick Saban's phones. Because when USC was Alabama,

Never had a problem. By the way, LSU to their credit has gone out. Georgia got Notre Dame. Yeah? Okay, because Georgia was willing to go. Well, there's part of this that I think he's right and wrong at the same time. He's right. He's been a champion of I'll play anybody anywhere, generally not at their stadium.

Yeah, thank you. Okay, so here's what happens. They call up whoever, right? It can be, they call up Ohio State. Let's just say it's Ohio State. I'm Ohio State. Hey, hey, you know, urban at the time. Yeah.

You want to play? Sure. All right, it's going to be in Atlanta. Well, I know. You come here, then I'll go there. No, no, no. Just Atlanta. Why would I want to go to the South?

Well, because we're closer to Atlanta, so it'll feel like more of a home game to us. So we want you to come down to Atlanta. Oh, no, no, no, Atlanta. You know, the dome there, close to our campus. Yeah, but Nick, you said you'll go anywhere. You'll play anybody. No, no, no. I'll play you anywhere.

Atlanta. Yeah. So that's where it's a little bit. And it's not Alabama's fault necessarily because it's not their job to make their schedule equitable as it relates to the rest of the country. They've scheduled for championships better than anybody else out there. And they should because that's afforded them with the autonomy that they have. Then don't go and say, we'll play anybody. That's true. Now, to his credit, what they have done in the future, and I know I think we have this to put up,

they have changed their tune on this conversation, this mock conversation that we just had. Because what they have done over the, now what you see is next year they're going to see USC at a neutral site, then Miami at a neutral site. But then starting in 2022 at Texas, home and home, Wisconsin, home and home and Wisconsin, home and home. You know why they're doing it?

Because the guys like me and you banging on it. That's true. The only reason they're doing this is us. If the media didn't put pressure on Nick, he'd play Citadel and Panera. spread nine times a year. And there's also an element of people are worried, even at the top end of college football, about home attendance.

Yes. Like Texas, for example, because Texas plays Oklahoma in Dallas in the Cotton Bowl, and A&M is not on their schedule anymore, they don't have any quality home opponents. I agree. For their season ticket holders. So we'll call USC and somebody else. Well, that's what they're doing. So that's why they've got to bring in LSU and they've got to bring in some of these.

I think they've got, Texas has Ohio State on their schedule. And they've had to do that. Chris Del Conti, their AD has had to do that. in order to bolster their home schedule so that he can sell tickets. So listen, Nick Saban is not wrong. People did not want to play them because it was neutral sites generally closer to Alabama's campus. Now that they'll go home and home, I'm hoping that more people will put them on

their schedule, which they have coming up in the future. I can fix the college football schedule tomorrow if they would just allow me to be the commissioner. Let's play NFL style of schedule. First place in the SEC plays first place in whatever scheduling part. you have in the Big Ten or the Big 12 or whatever it is. That way, without you having to do it as an athletic director or a head coach and we can avoid this awkward conversation about, no, I want to play here.

I'm just going to tell you, hey, Alabama, you got to go to Ohio State this year and you're going to have Washington come to your place. Who wouldn't want to see Washington go to Tuscaloosa this year and Alabama go to Ohio State just because they all won their conference? Thank you. All right. So this is not really a college topic, but you've been so. pro Baker Mayfield.

Yeah. Ha ha ha. I don't know if your television worked last week. It did. Wasn't great for Baker. Pick, pick, pick, pick, pick, pick. I mean, the 18 penalties were not his fault. The atrocious offensive line play was not his fault.

By the way, Tom's offense doesn't have all those penalties. I think it is Baker's fault. He's the quarterback. What did you make of, by the way, he didn't wear a shirt this off season. Look at my chest hair. Here's a cobra next to me. A fast drink. Listen, when you wake up feeling dangerous, you sit.

next to a cobra. I just about it, though. Listen, that train fell into the river. I mean, it was a bad week, but it's going to happen in the NFL. I think they'll ultimately be all right. You don't think so? I don't think that. Let's make a friendly wager right now.

Okay, I will. Okay. What would you like to take? You set the number and I'll take the over. I already set my number. They're going to go nine and seven and beat a bunch of crappy teams down the stretch to make you think they're good, but they're not that great of a team. I think they're the third best team in their division.

Do they go to the playoffs? No. So you say yes? I say they go to the playoffs. Okay. So what's the bet? I'm not sure yet. Hey, I'll tell you what's dangerous making a bet with this guy.

I'm like a wizard over here. Let's bring a cobra in and one of us has to get within five feet of it just because we're feeling dangerous. But remember, when you watch Baker this weekend, you knew when you watched it, oh, Carr's going to be so obnoxious. Of course. Well, listen, obnoxious and you go hand in hand. It's like every, does the day in?

and why. So I knew you were going to be obnoxious about it. I knew I was going to have to come on here and answer to Baker is going to be fine. The dude is a great player. I really believe that. And we'll see how it all pans out this year. I'm more actually wait and see with the Freddie Kitchen things. I don't know. Kitchen nightmare right there. Okay. So Lynn Swan resigned as AD USC. Now, it's a very interesting thing. The USC, the big boosters are not into Clay Hilton. They're not. Right.

But they got a new coordinator, smart young guy. Graham Harrell. Does a very good job. And then they got this freshman quarterback. Oh, Lord, this like three-star nobody watched him playing high school kid comes in and now sets every USC freshman record. My question is, if USC, they beat BYU this weekend. They lose, let's say, to Notre Dame. If they go 10 and 2, can you fire Clay Hilton?

Even if you know it's been there five years, the program's not even national. What do you do? I think that 100% of their focus outside of the coaching staff and the team. If you take the team outside of this, you're talking about the administration, right? Decisions with hiring and firing, right? What do they do with Clay Hilton potentially, this and that? If you're just talking about administrative decisions, first and foremost, I would put 100% of my time and effort into hiring the best possible athletic director.

Because they've been former player stuff and a lot of politics and a lot of, it's been really not good. Yeah, you know, oh, well, I'm friends with boosters and I played. That should make me a good AD. I think that they need to get away from the USC family. And there are a lot of great candidates out there. Absolutely. The guy at Washington State is a really, really good AD. Watch out for him.

I think his last name is Chun. Jennifer Cohen at Washington's remarkable AD. She's a remarkable AD. There are a lot of people that are fundraising. animals out there and they can do a great job. You didn't answer my question though. He goes 10 and two. Do you keep him? Well, that's what I'm saying. I wouldn't answer that question yet because I think that that question has to be answered by the next athletic director. So that's why for me it's cart before the horse. Do you think Clay Hilton's the future of USC football? Do you think he can go toe to toe with

Nick Sabin, Davo Sweeney? Because USC's brand is bigger than Clemson. I don't know yet. Holy Lord. I don't know yet. Why? Because what are you, what are you not seen? If you were to ask me, at halftime last week against Stanford, or when they were down 17 to 3, I would have said, yeah, this is going on their trajectory that I kind of thought it was going to go. And then from that moment,

42 to 3 run against Stanford with a true freshman quarterback and the offensive lines actually showing something. That's the biggest revelation about USC is that on the line of scrimmage, they're much better than they have been in the last few years.

And then, Colin, then you've got Lynn stepping down. Those two revelations, that quarterback and their AD, stepping down, I think actually could be the turning point for USC. I think we could be sitting here in three years. I don't know if it's going to be clay or not, but I think we could be sitting here, maybe even at the end of next season and thinking to ourselves, boy, that was the turning point for USC to get them back pointed in the right direction. Think of this. Not even Texas can overcome a lack of administrative cohesiveness, right? Like Texas's school was a mess. Their AD position was a mess.

Then their coaching position was a mess. It goes kind of top down like that. Well, USC has figured out their president. I think she's a really smart lady. If they figure out their AD, then he or she can figure out the head coaching, and then their program will be figured out. Again, this is a big turning point for USC in a positive direction. All right. Throw up your top 10 real quick here for Clat. I don't have any real problems with it. By the way, Wisconsin in there. By the way, you got Michigan out of there. I'm, we are both Harbaugh fans. Yeah. Okay. Let me just say it right now. I think he's a great coach. Yeah, I do too. Okay. they have done, Jim Harbaugh has done a poor job recruiting and developing quarterbacks at Michigan.

I'm sorry, Shea Patterson is not better this year. His line's better. His receivers are better. He's not better. Harbaugh is failing as a quarterback developer. He was an NFL quarterback. Come on. This whole system change.

Listen, he has really given the keys to Josh Gaddis, their new offensive coordinator. And this is the first time he's been calling plays. And their offense was a disaster last week. A total disaster. I mean, listen, at least Army, you knew what they could do well. After that game was over, I'm like, what does Michigan do well? I don't know. And now they've got a buy week before they travel to Madison and play Wisconsin,

who has not given up a point yet this season. And Michigan State looks great, by the way. Their defense looks incredible. Unbelievable. So Michigan's in for it now. They've got an incredibly tough schedule. Remember, in the middle of the season, they've got seven straight consecutive weeks against the Power 5 or Notre Dame.

And when they face Notre Dame, it's going to be after two straight road games, Penn State being one of them, and Notre Dame is going to be on a buy. there's a good chance. If Michigan continues to play like this, they'll lose three, maybe four games this year. Well, that's not good enough. And their offense has been a massive, massive disappointment. There's no point of view.

The quarterback plays a ridiculous. All right, finally, listen, let's get through this quick, this upset of the week. Oh, yeah, when Joel was successful, let's get through it quick, Joy. When Joel was 2 and 0 last week with his almost upset, let's get through this quick, because weren't you one and four? Or what are you, two and five? I do remember Colin picking Colorado with you.

I think he stole that, Joy. Listen, again. A conversation in the hall is not stealing. It's journalism. That's what you were about to say. I steal from everybody. Therefore, it's research. If I just stole from Kla, I would be a thief.

I do like BYU this week. To win? Oh, don't give me almost. It's a three-point spread. What does the graphic say, Colin? Almost upset alert. I am giving you underdog covers. That's what I do.

This is the most. shady segment that we do. I'm giving you underdog covers every week. I'm kind of with Colin. I feel like last year you was more dramatic. I mean, you're literally fine to pick them. I'll take that team. Whoa. I'm scared to go out on a ledge sometimes. You're acting like you're old Wellenda. You're out in a ledge here walking between buildings on a toothpick and you're just throwing up easy ones. What happened to sitting next to a cobra and feeling dangerous? Yeah. Oh, I did wake up feeling dangerous. That's why I might look at 27 and a half for Syracuse. Uh, there's something then. That's,

something, not a field goal. BYU, U.S. He's a field goal. What is the segment? Shady. Almost upset of the week. Joel Clat, good to seeing you. Giving you underdog covers. All right. We got to take a break. Air Force. Watch out for Air Force.

Oh, brother. We take a, no, I don't want to hear any sirens for a three-point spread. Watch out for Air Force. No. All right, back in a second, the herd. Watch out for Syracuse. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays and New Newnie. Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field

and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

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

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff,

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

What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Sunday, we've got a huge doubleheader on Fox in the early game Zeke and the Cowboys Battle, The Redskins. Then in America's game of the week, Drew Brees and the Saints faced Jared Gop and the Rams in a rematch of last year's NFC championship. It all happens on Fox in the Fox Sports app. Check your local listings.

You know what's interesting? The Bears and the Broncos, Joy. So the Rams Saints, I think is going to be the game I want to watch. But right next door, the Bears. and the Broncos is very interesting. The Bears have had 10 days to prep for that, and the Broncos come off a late Monday night game.

So that's a tough place. It's their old corner. That's a fascinating game. So Vic Fangio, the Denver coach, was Chicago's coordinator, knows all of Trubisky's limitations, but Trubisky has 10 days because they played on Thursday. Denver played a short week,

but Denver's virtually impossible to beat in Denver in September. Like the numbers don't even make any sense. So that Bears Broncos game is fascinating game. That is a really interesting game with the relationships and the coaching staff stuff. Here's Joy with the

news. No, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Gronk announced his retirement back on March 24th, but a lot of people are convinced that that is not set in stone. What? Not one of them. Yesterday, the Patriots

veteran wide receiver DeMarius Thomas was cut. or traded to the Jets. Yeah. And Gronk responded shortly afterwards with a cryptic tweet. What? It was just two eyeball emojis. I love how we're doing this now with retired players.

And like some current players, too. We do it with the NBA during a free agency period. Like anything that anyone posts is just this breadcrumb to the inside of their mind of what it's about. Literally this could be about anything. But it's really, really funny. But yes, I mean, Gronk knows what he's doing. He loves to mess with people, and this is... Do you think that's all it is?

Yes. I honestly do not believe that Gronk wants to come back. But he's just having fun. Yes. I mean, why wouldn't he? What's his brand? Yeah, it's Gronk. I don't think he's going to come back.

And if you see him now, he looks like a completely different person. Yeah, he looks great. He's not training the way that he was training when he was playing. I think he's probably enjoying not getting tackled and drag to the ground and rehabbing and being in pain. And he's clearly using CB. and other products. Is that the stuff that get you, that CBD oil is a cannabis oil? Yes, but it doesn't get you high.

It doesn't. It's for recovery and pain management, pain treatment. But it doesn't get you, you're not high. No, no. Because I don't like olives. I can't eat an olive. I can't swallow an olive. I can't.

But I love olive oil. So if I wanted CBD oil, would I be considered a cannabis taker? Cannabis taker. Well, it's interesting. No, not at all. It's, it's, there's no, um, THC. So like if Goulet was on cannabis or CBD oil right now, he wouldn't be. But you can't be on CBD oil.

Well, I'm saying you wouldn't be any goofier than you normally are. It doesn't screw up with anything other than it makes you. No, it's like creams and rubs for your joints and, yeah, it does not affect you. So I get CBD. Like, it's like a little, that sounds, there's lots of different products. There's oils. Sounds suspicious. CBD oil.

People put it in dog treats for, for dogs that have anxiety and stuff. Yeah. It's a whole industry. And it's legal. This is what Kyle Turley talked about in our show. Yes. And Gronk is a part of the company. Oh, Grunk.

Okay. He announced, that's where he announced when he was, like, crying about how much pain he was in and how, you know, upset football was making him because of the rehab. I'm hearing CBD oil all the time now. Like, all the time. It's good for helping you sleep. It is? Yeah, it's not, it's not drugs.

Would you take it? Would you take it? Yes, I would. Like in between breaks? Yeah, because it doesn't do anything. I mean, I don't. I don't. But, like, it doesn't do anything.

Why are you saying? You don't like your... Because people are crazy and look at how you're acting. It's not, it's not, it's not, it's not just do some research. It's not that serious. This is delicious coffee. And I put a few CBD drops in there. That's why you're much more calm today.

Maybe it's not. Chip Kelly was supposed to give UCLA's program a boost. The Bruins are o' and two this season. Yeah. They lost the Cincinnati and San Diego. State. That was the first loss to San Diego State University in program history. Brutal. And Chip is defending his team's slow start. You know, you don't tear up the root of the tree to see if it's growing. You know,

you just keep water on it. You keep growing it and doing what you're supposed to do. And that's what happens over the course of time. You know, I think we all live in a society where we want a quick fix and an instant pill, but it doesn't exist. It's never existed in this game. So you just can't say right now, hey, let's run an entirely new defense and entirely the new offense. You know, you do that. You'd probably lose by a thousand. Well, we definitely don't want them losing by a thousand. I will say this, is that Chip's offense is very dependent on quarterback play, and they may not have the right quarterback.

And it should be noted. He makes a good point here. UCLA's not a football power. Clemson is. It took four years for Davo Sweeney to build the program. And that's at a football first school. UCLA is a business school. It's international. It's a basketball school. I would argue sometimes they're football stadiums, an hour from their campus. This is not like a powerhouse. No, but it is Chip Kelly. And when you go out

and make a big, flashy, expensive hire like that, there are some pressures and expectations to come with it. They were three and nine last season. And they lost the Cincinnati, which, you know, you can kind of defend, okay, but the San Diego State loss is indefensible. I mean, even when you are developing a program. If you come into a program with a reputation like Chip Kelly, you've got to deliver a better performance than that. And they're not saying they're going to fire him right now, or this is all a disaster. And yes, I do think it takes a lot more time to develop an entire program, especially the college level. You have to not only implement your program, your culture, your system, but you have players sometimes that you didn't recruit. Like, there's a lot going on here. But I understand

where the pressures are coming from. That said, they play Oklahoma this week, and UCLA is giving away four tickets for the game to each season ticket holder who endured last weekend's loss to San Diego State. Cool. So they're trying to get people in the building because it's probably not high expectations for how that game is going to go.

So finally, the lack of star power on Team USA's Feeba World Cup roster drew some criticism ahead of the tournaments with good reason. They barely beat Turkey and overtime during group stage, and today they lost to France. 89, 79.

They were without the help of Anthony Davis, James Hardin and Damien Lillard, and then they lost Jason Tatum to an ankle injury that he suffered against Turkey. Nobody, the players don't care about this tournament. You know, it's weird spot the team USA isn't because I feel like after what happened to Paul George, players are like, yeah. Play bowl games in college football. If you're not playing in the Rose Bowl, like, what's the point? I mean, there's something to representing your country, but at one point, if you haven't already been on the team, like any, any player that's like LeBron. LeBron doesn't need to be on Team USA anymore.

Like he's done it. We're good. Like I think if you already, if you're a high-level player and you've already participated, I'm cool with you not doing it. There is something to playing for your country. But, I mean, you're risking your career in years off your career. I don't like marginalizing any athlete because they don't play in an Olympic year for an Olympic team. I don't have any problem with the player not doing it.

Like, do it or don't. It doesn't affect me the way. But I hear a lot of this. I've heard this before. Well, you don't. You don't care about the country. Look what the country is given to you. That's baloney.

Bottom line, I don't, I've never been in the military. Do I not love America? The bottom line is players have to play 82 games. As they go to the playoffs, it's 100 games. Adding, taking the off season away, I mean, don't we all like to in the summer? Like, let's take some weeks off and go enjoy our family. Like, you're off season to rest manners. And so, I mean, I think all these players, if given the opportunity at the highest level,

should experience it once. But I don't like the idea that you're anti-American or anti-patriot if you want an off-season and rest your body. But I also feel like, you know, we find out they lost to France like, okay, that's disappointing. And, you know, they won 58 straight in international competitions, their first World Cup loss since 2006. But we know the best players for Team USA are not there.

Yes, thank you. So it's kind of this feeling in the back of your mind, like, okay, we lost, but do we have our best team out there? like, no, we don't. So I can't really get too crazy about it. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Bruce Gratkowski played in this league for a long time with a series of teams. I'm interested because he's seen different cultures. We talked about the young coaches struggling this weekend, one, six and one. The old guys, Andy Belichick Harbaugh did great. I'm going to ask Bruce about

is he had younger coaches, older coaches. I tend to think this is very complex. It's a very difficult sport to coach. There's a lot of bureaucracy. There's crazy owners. There's young players that need massaging. I think older coaches can work in this league, although I do like the ideas that young people bring to sports.

So Bruce Bradkowski, Bradkowski, I've got it. He'll be joining us. I remember his Tampa years very well. Hiring can be a challenge. We all know that, right? You have a job opening. You got to hire a couple. couple people, where do you get the people from? As Codable co-founder, Gretchen Heibner discovered,

she needed to hire a game artist for her education tech company. She's like it's not going to be easy. She went to ZipRecruiter.com. Now, they don't depend on candidates finding you. It finds them for you. It's technology at ZipRecruiter identifies people with the experience and invites them to apply to your job. So Gretchen posted her job on ZipRecruiter, impressed with how quickly she found qualified applicants. So she used the screening questions at ZipRecruiter to find her candidate, Filterram, found the best one. Now Gretchen has found the new game artist in less than two weeks.

Four out of five employers who post a job on ZipRecruiter within the first day find a match. How about that? Effective for business of all sizes. Try it for free. The web address, ZipRecruiter.com slash HIRD. ZipRecruiter is the smartest way to hire. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Everybody knows what a fan I am of Pro Football Focus, PFF.com. By the way, get 25% off your elite

subscription today if he used the promo code quarterback 25, QB25. Bruce Gradkowski played for 11 years in the NFL. He's a Pittsburgh kid. He eventually played for the Steelers, Tampa, Oakland, Cincinnati, Cleveland. He also has a weekly show in NFL. radio. So it's my pleasure to bring him in via the Coward Global Satellite Network. PFF.com. Check it out. All right. So let's start with Baker Mayfield. I said Bruce in the offseason. My concern was this team was great on the perimeter, but I had questions about the offensive line. I don't think you can go from bad to great at O-line during a season. What do the numbers say about Baker Mayfield? How many mistakes were his and how many were the guys up front, Bruce? Well, I mean, you bring up

a good point. I think offensively upfront, you know, they struggled a little bit. I think they weren't in the greatest position, field position, but Baker Mayfield, when targeting OBJ downfield, a couple interceptions weren't his fault. OBJ on the big end route puts a little

flavor on a route. Baker misses behind. So there's just some issues that come with week one. And I think up front, that's the same thing. Getting used to Baker Mayfield in the pocket, how he moves, he holds on the ball, a tattel longer than other guys, but you also have guys like Chris Hubbard that's playing tackle,

that's used to playing guard. He's a guard type of build. So there's different things that they'll learn from, and a lot they can learn from from week one. And especially, I wouldn't throw in the town get too worried, but there are some concerns that you've got to raise when you see this offense. By the way, as passer rating was lowest when targeting OBJ, we often saw that with Romo and Des Bryant. Bruce, you quarterbacked in this league for 11 years. There are wide receivers who are very vocal, they want the ball. Should I be concerned that Baker's passer rating was lowest when targeting OBJ? You shouldn't be too worried.

There was some mistakes in the ball game, and Baker did throw that interception. Like I was talking about, it was a big in-rout. And Baker's taking five steps from the shotgun. He's hitching up. He's letting the ball loose. And if you watch OBJ on this play, around 15 yards, he acts like he's going to go in, stems vertical a few more steps, then takes the in route. That's why Baker missed them so far behind.

And those are the routes they have to clean up and practice. Same thing with Jarvis Landry later on in the game, a quick out route. He's getting banged around. Baker still tries to force it. It gets intercepted. So a lot of things to clean up, but I think OBJ and Baker, they will clean that up. They will get better. You talked about OBJ being a vocal guy, and he is.

and Baker is as well, and I'm interested how does Freddie Kitchens handle the different personalities and overcome this adversity? I think this is the best thing that could have happened for the Browns in week one, humble them and get them going in week two. Let's talk Lamar Jackson. Again, sometimes you have big numbers, but you don't necessarily grade out particularly well at pff.com.

So, Bruce, what did the numbers say about Lamar? Was it because the dolphin stink, or did he make real throws and reads? here? Well, I think it was a little bit of both. I mean, graded, passer graded over 93, did a fantastic job. The thing I liked when I saw from Lamar was he made all different type of throws. I mean, you saw the bombs. He showed the touch. He showed velocity on some. And he was also playing the game from the neck up. I mean, he was making the right decisions. But also, Colin, I mean, did the dolphins not know you're allowed to play with

a safety in the middle of the field? So they gave him a ton of easy things. throws. It was unbelievable to watch. But I think it raises a point. I mean, the dolphins went all in and said after that 50-yard run to start off the game. They said, we're not letting this team run the football. They loaded the box and Lamar Jackson shredded them the rest of the game. So if you're facing Lamar Jackson, the Ravens, you have a choice to make. Are you going to stop the run? Or are you going to let those speedy receivers outside have one-on-one matchups and let Lamar Jackson take his chance being accurate with the football? Gradkowski, 11 years in the NFL, a small college guy at Toledo, but went on to have a very nice,

plus decade-long career in the NFL. Now he's the quarterback grader for PFF, which is a great site. Let's talk Dak Prescott. I thought Dak Prescott looked. I thought Dak, he looked, the rhythm of the offense was better. He got rid of the ball faster. I'm interested because when my eyes tell me, he graded very high. What were the grades on Dak? Well, you're right. and he did. The thing I loved about it, man, Kellyn Moore, what he brings to this office, the shifts, the motions. They were, they had 69% motions third in week one. Last year, they were 12th, you know, their play action pass, second in week one. And you got to think, you know, whether you start off the game run the football or not, teams have to prepare for that beast

behind Dak Prescott, and that's Ezekiel Elliott. So that just takes the pressure off Dak Prescott. Fantastic play calling in the game. They had some no huddle type, quick tempo. So they mixed a variety of different things. And the easy passes that they, you know, constructed for Dak Prescott, he hit. But more importantly, the ones that he had to drop back and pass, he hit those as well. And that's why it, you know, came together such a good game for Dak Prescott. So Jerry Jones, man, that price tags, it's going to keep going up, Colin. Three minutes left, Bruce. Steelers, every time they play a primetime game against New England, they often look completely unraveled. What are the grading say? When you look at film,

why, we know the talent isn't this big of a gap. What does New England and Tom Brady do? Pittsburgh can't stop. Well, you look at that defense, man. one of the top secondary in the league. Look how they shut out the Rams in the Super Bowl. They shout out Kansas City and a half, and then they start the season and stopping Big Ben in the Steelers' offense. But the thing I look at in that game is

there has to be a number two. Juju can't do it all. The Patriots, a lot of man to man. Dante Moncrief dropped a few footballs. You know, James Washington or young receiver catches a goal ball down the sideline and then runs out of bounds. Come on, young man.

stay, tightrope that sideline, and try to score. So, but I look at this, Colin, the Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Line up under center, punch them in the mouth and run the football. And off of that, play action pass. Let Big Ben get back in the pocket and drop those bombs over the defense's head. And with that offense line, I'm telling you, they have to lean on James Connor in that running game, led by Marquis Pouncey and Ramon Foster up front.

By the way, one more minute, Kyler Murray, should I believe the first three quarters or the last quarter in overtime? What's the truth? Man, you know what? That's a great question. But I'm believing that fourth quarter because I want a guy when the pressure's on the line, he wants the ball in his hands. In the fourth quarter, two big time throws. And I'll tell you what, though. Larry Fitzgerald, man, you are the man.

His adjustments to the football in the air, best ball skills I've ever been around I've ever seen. And Kyler Murray, though, that poise, that composure. He wants to bowing his hands in the fourth quarter. It reminds me a lot about like an Andrew Luck, a big Ben, a Tom Brady, those guys that thrive in big moments. It doesn't matter the score. Kyler Murray's always going to keep your team competitive, and we saw that the other night. So it's exciting to see what's forward. And I think for Cliff Kingsbury, it's at no huddle offense.

It's that two-minute drill, spread them out, running all the time. David Johnson down the seam as a running back made some fantastic. plays. So it's cool to see, but I'm believing the fourth quarter of how Kyle Murray played. PFF.com. Again, go there right now, 25% off your elite subscription. Go to pff.com.

The promo code is QB25. Bruce Gratkowski. Love to have you on again. Great talking to you, Bruce. Yeah, thanks, Colin. Thanks for having me. You bet. So that's all very interesting. It was a really fun week one. Yeah, I was saying this yesterday, Joy.

I was looking at the, I was looking at all the lines on the games this week. It's really interesting. I tend to love taking underdogs. My rule is always, give me points. If you can give me a decent quarterback, Matt Ryan, and I get points, I'll take it every time. This week is one of the rare weeks I like a lot of favorites. I'm having to talk myself out. There's like six favorites, and I'm like, don't bet it.

Don't bet favorites. You don't bet favorites. That's not your mantra. My whole life has been I don't bet favorites. But this week, like Steelers at home, minus four against Seattle. My golden rule is if you have a competent quarterback and you're humiliated on national TV, that team almost always plays great the following week. And Seattle's got to go all the way east.

Pittsburgh's in a foul mood. Mike Tomlin's been all over them. So that Pittsburgh game to me, it's giving Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll four points is a lot. I have a feeling Pittsburgh is going to play so well. When you get humiliated and mocked, these are pro athletes. They don't like that. Hour three coming up in the herd. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you, exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsLice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

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

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast. The podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue of 42.

Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Stay young. MDrive for Men.com. Code heard. Burn fat.

boost healthy testosterone. You know what, man? That was a good segue. We were just talking about not wanting to age. I'm not real big into drugs and stuff, but I read something yesterday like they're thinking about, it's either stem cell or something, or you can take pills or something.

They found some gene where I can get younger. I'd take that in a heartbeat. Just got to be careful, man. It's like, what are you giving up to gain? That's interesting. You got to be very careful because... It's like, I know people that have taken HGH, but they have their blood tested every month,

just in case something else is growing. Right. Yeah, you just got to keep everything in proper, proper perspective and do it in moderation. Now, Joy says she's just, but Joy has never had a pimple. Her's perfect DNA. So Joy says just eat vegetables. They do have perfect DNA, don't that? I mean, literally her and your brother is ridiculous. That's so horrible that she would sit there and give us advice on aging. She's like, just have perfect skin and it all works out. That's not what I said. I agree. I said, eat more vegetables and drink water, which is advice I need to take. So my solution of life is to eat kale all day. No, it's not eat kale all day.

I'm just saying, like, if you take care of yourself mostly and you don't think about being old, that's step one and step two. I do agree with her, though. I do agree. When did you feel old in the NFL? Never. I just got hurt. Okay. And I just didn't want to play feeling old.

Okay. I always said my quote was always, and it was a joke, but it ended up coming to pass, was if you saw the best of me, you saw the last of me. Oh, I like that. So I couldn't get my best anymore, and I wasn't going to be the one that they. had to force out. I know some guys wouldn't subscribe to that. But for me, when I could not move the way that I moved when people were like, wow, look at him play, right? I wasn't going to be the guy where they're like, oh, man, you remember how he used to play? Then when you watch Brady Sunday, what do you make of it? He's like one of those Taylor kids. You know, he just doesn't age. He's just got his,

whatever his genetic makeup is, it's just in there and it's not going anywhere. No, there's something to be said about this. John Lynch was a fierce hitter. John Lynch told me one time, the Niners' GM, I never had a concussion. I'm like, timeout. What? Fifteen years of blowing people up. Never had a concussion. He hit really hard. Head first.

That was my error. He's a little older than me, but that was my error at times. He crushed people. Yes. And then there's other guys that struggle with it. They have, you know, they have concussion issues. They're dealing with the issues of those issues. Okay, so listen, I've said this earlier. I like a lot of news

stuff. I use Uber, DoorDash, new technology, feel young. Here's something where I sound old. I like individual sports, Serena Federer, Agassiz, Stamper. You go do your individual sport. But team sports, I like the team. I don't want individual sports and individual people unraveling the team concept. I like teams. Okay. I know where you're going with this. Obj's got to watch on. You're 0 and 1. If you go 0 and 2, forget it in that division. I saw Baltimore this week. You're defending OBJ. Okay, I won't say I'm defending OBJ. I'll just say that there's this brave new world that people his age live in. And unless you come into that world and understand how millennials think and how those brain waves, how they're moving.

you're not going to be able to keep up with the what and the why and the how of what they're doing. So I have to sacrifice. Who says what they're doing wearing watches during games is right. Okay. So, but who says it's wrong? The NFL does. All right. Now, that's a great point.

I baited you into that. I baited you into that. All right. This is like a chess match going on right now. Right, right. The NFL says it's wrong. Why do you think the NFL says it's wrong, Colin? Because it's called uniformity.

And that's why Delta pilots can't have on a P sign on their. they want uniformity. This is why... It's because the walking billboard that OBJ or any other player is is only acceptable if it is directed through the National Football League. Yes, absolutely. You got in trouble for wearing underarm. I did.

I did. And the thing about it was it wasn't a thing until people started saying, wait, hold on, what is under armor? What is it? Like, who are these people, right? then all of a sudden I'm getting fine for having the gloves on, for having the shoes on. And it was interesting because I'm looking at the OBJ situation. And people, I saw the sound bites from Chris Carter.

Hey, by the way, hey, Chris, man, I love you to death. But leave that man alone on this one, man. This is the reason why I'm going to say leave him alone on this one. Could you imagine in a day and age where health and player safety is so important, right, that we actually try to figure out the best ways to mind. monitor heart rate, monitor how, what is it that when you take the salt in and you cramp up, what is that? Come on, what I'm losing my mind.

I know what you're saying. What is it like your hydration levels? There you go, right? If your brain is operating at a high level. Imagine if OBJ had a watch on, which, by the way, did not break team or break policy because it was not a hard object that needed to be reported. It was made of a material, I believe, plastic, where you can't sit there and say that it was an intrusive object that could give him any type of an advantage that way, right? So imagine if he's measuring his steps.

No, I think that would. Imagine he, because he did play a good game. They didn't lose that game because of his watch or his performance. They lost that game because they're just, I told you, they're not a franchise, they're a team, right? Right. So my point is, if the league had a business. partnership and they do a lot of research and they felt there was a watch where they players could monitor their well-being. I think the league would approve it. Sure. But that's not what that watch is. That watch is, I'm stylish and they don't, they want to get out of that space. But see, the problem,

the problem is is that fossils, and I'm not trying to call you a fossil or a dinosaur, all right? But the problem with that thought process is, is that because we are not thinking progressively in that direction, and situations like this will occur because we make a big deal of it. Like if there was no big deal made of OBJ wearing the watch, then it wouldn't be a deal. But we made a big deal of it. Well, he is a star. Okay. But the reality of it is people have worn what would you do, what would Jesus do, you know, stuff on there?

There's been all kinds of messages on that type of material that people have worn. And they find him for it. They find Erlacker. They don't. They find Erlacher 100 grand for wearing. a hat at a media day. Okay, but that's different. A wristband of some sort,

the types of wristbands that have been worn, guys wear all kinds of different bracelet wristbands during games. If you ever pay attention to it. But that's not a hard object. But neither is that watch. Well, neither is that watch. It was not a hard object.

But it was made into a thing because OBJ was wearing it and you could clearly see that it was a watch. Well, listen, the downside to being a star, you get a bunch of free stuff, and we talk about you more. I mean, if he was the number three receiver for the Titans. But that's the upside. Well, again. That's the progressive nature

of all of this. Okay, that's fine, but you're going to get fine. And by the way, and then Freddie Kitchens today is going to be asked about your watch. Okay, and he says he's going to continue to where to watch. And then they'll own two, and it's watch talk. If you're OBJ's head coach, and you know how much pressure is on you with all the

talent that you have on this team. And OBJ says to you, you know what, this told me, I need a to drink this much water when I got to the sideline. Now, I like that watch, but that's not what this watch is. But do we know that? Yes, I think. Tell me, have you confirmed it?

I am not Jake Laser, but I think that's not a high- I have not confirmed. Have you confirmed it? It's not a hydration. I'm 99% sure it's not a hydration tracking watch. How do we know? Well, but the point is. Where is the information coming from?

So you, listen, everybody pushes back in authority. That's the world we live in. And I get that. That's fair. by the way, and I am for protesting. I mean, we have protests in the streets. I used to live in Portland, Oregon, like four times a week. I am for protesting.

What OBJ is essentially doing is a protest. I want to wear style. You're not letting me find me. I think it's kind of his own personal protest against the league. You know, what if his approach, I'm going to stay true to, I'm not going to give in, I'm going to stay true to where I'm coming from. What if this led to a medical breakthrough where we could avoid concussions, where we could avoid cardiac arrest, if we could avoid.

But what if it let, I mean, little leaps lead to big leaps, right? I mean, I'm just, this is just me thinking progressively, you know, and the reality of it is. By the way, the NBA, everybody always bangs on the NFL. I always find this fascinating. So the NFL gets this rap about, you know, they're really, really rough. The NFL lets you kneel at an anthem. The NBA does not. The NBA instituted a dress code.

I remember that. NFL's like, wherever you want the games. The NFL, when it changed footballs, went to Peyton Manning and said, what do you make of the new football? This idea that the NFL's anti-player,

and the NBA is always pro player, only one league is like, you can't kneel at an anthem. It's not the NFL. It's the NBA. I don't think the NFL's, I do not think the NFL's anti-player, but I do think there's a uniformity thing here.

And here's what they're saying to this. themselves. If we let him wear this, and then somebody can have a little bigger, and I think they're thinking, I've heard my bosses say this in my life. I'll ask for something during a contract negotiation. And they'll say, can I be a part of your contract negotiation? Put LeVar in there. Hey, hey, listen. You know what the word they always use? Precedent. If we give it to you, we got to give it to somebody else. I think the NFL is worried about precedent here. In what way, though, in what regard? If he's wearing a, all right, but that's a pretty big face watch. How big does the watch? How big

are you going to try to go with the watch? Big face watches aren't even in style anymore. Well, what if they came back in style? By the way, why does McDonald sue the little old ladies that open a pub called McGranny? And McDonald's sues them. You're like, that's because a little bit you let McGranny

open? That's a hard. That's a hard comparison. And the reason why it's a hard comparison is because the minute you say Mc Anything, it is related to the brand that they've established. OBJ isn't establishing that watch brand off of saying the NFL watch. He's not saying the Cleveland Browns watch. So to say the Mick Granny, you can't compare the Mick Granny because if you're using

the Mick Granny, you knew exactly as grandmoms what you were doing. You were trying to say, you know what, you could get a Mick Grittle from McDonald's or you could come to us, the grandmoms who took care of you when you were a child and made you porridge and oatmeal and all that stuff. And you can't get a Mick porridge bowl from us, right? You can't do that that's infringing on a brand that's a franchise well i'm just telling you uh i don't think the nfels is anti obj as he i don't think they're anti obj i don't and i don't think that i think he's he's approaching it from the wrong angle but i will say this obj has the right to feel the way that he wants to feel based upon the things that he's going through and what has changed in time from

when i even played which isn't that long ago but it's kind of long ago is that the platform forms in which you're able to express yourself and the audiences that you're able to to capture sometimes exceed the it exceeds the establishment. And now what NFL people are going to have to deal with, NBA, whatever it is, the franchises, they're going to have to deal with the fact that there's going to have to be more give and take that's ever taken place moving forward, Colin, because the audiences don't have to tune in to your show to find out what they feel about OBJ. They can tune right into OBJ's YouTube channel or to his Twitter channel.

So when you're talking about the social influence, those guys have the ability to bring more to the table than they ever have. And now you would be foolish to take those type of influencers and villainize them because those are people that can drive your, they could drive. you're they could drive your sales they could drive your ticket sales your your jersey sales your watch sales that's your best capitalize capitalism come on let's go that was a pretty good point thank you took you nine minutes to get that i really liked i you know i'm one of those drive through the the scenic route to get to where you're going i'm sorry i'm sorry man i think it's a pittsburg

thing though i think we like we like people to understand where we're coming from yeah all right lavar errington eight seasons three pro balls joy with the news No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. It's also a Pittsburgh thing to talk about directions. Is it? I mean, every conversation that I have with someone from Pittsburgh starts with the weather.

They're always unhappy with the weather. It's too hot. It's too cold. It's too rainy. True. And what route did you take to get to the house? Did you take this one? Yeah.

Frankstown? 475. What was the traffic like? Did you turn out that one red light with the crack in the road? Every conversation. That's Pittsburgh. It's bizarre. That's why that's my home.

It's so bizarre. There you go. Tyreek Hill had a clavicle injury during the Chiefs week one win over the Jaguars. It's not as bad as Nick Foles. He is expected to miss four to six weeks. So that's a good sign for Kansas City. Yeah, very good. The Chiefs don't plan on placing him on the IR.

And the Chief's next four games are at the Raiders, Ravens at home, at the Lions, and then the Colts at home. Yeah, that just feels like six and out of me. Um, it's, I mean, it's a big, it's a big loss because he is that talented. But Sammy Watkins stepped right in. He had 87 receiving yards. I'm sorry, um, 198 receiving yards and three touchdown. So, and they still have Travis Kelsey.

So they still have weapons out there. And Patrick Mahomes is going to spread it around. But the good news is that he's not going to be out for the year because it's the same game. Nick Folze is basically the same injury and he's gone. So good news only will leave me four or six weeks, but we'll see what happens. happens in the next in those games so to Sean Watson Texans had a rough outing Monday in New Orleans he was sacked

six times and hit 11 against the Saints he also went airborne into the end zone and head coach Bill O'Brien is reiterating that he is fine we ran that play down there on fourth down and he kind of got flipped into the air and yeah he just landed

it's not a you know it's nothing that's going to keep him out just treatment it's just normal bumps and bruises just like every player in the game has? Yeah, it probably is normal bumps and bruises, but that's not every other player in the game. It's Deshaun Watson.

I know he runs around a lot, and I feel fine with that because he is an athlete, and he seems, I think the, he seems more adorable in that space, but we don't want him to be durable. Like, he has the ability to run, and that's great, and it should always be a part of his game,

but we don't want to see another Andrew Luck situation. They need to do something about protecting him, he can't get hit that much. And by the way, they don't have a draft pick in the first round next two years. And I don't think they have a second round pick in one of the years. So they better figure out how to either trade within the league or because most of your good offensive linemen can get gobbled up early. So they're not in a draft slot that you'd love.

They don't have an elite number one. And that first round picks are the highest percentage of making it. So they've got, they're going to have to figure this O line. I mean, they got their left tackle. Now that's good. Now they got to get the, they don't have a very good interior O line. So they got the left tackle. solved. I'd fix the guard positions

because there was major major leakage on that O-line Monday night. Great game, but scary. I mean, you talk all the time about how you would build your team. I've never understood why you don't always start with after you get the quarterback, the offensive line. It seems easy. I don't know. I don't.

I don't try to outsmart situation. Everyone says it. Anyone that we bring in the seat that comes on the show who's played the game at a high level will tell you that it's one in the trenches. Hey, by the way, the Raiders on night. Give credit to John Gruden. Their offensive line looked really good, and that's against Denver that's got Vaughn Miller and Bradley Chub. And I thought the Raiders, I thought those guys are tired.

I thought the Raiders O' line was the most impressive part of the game. Derek Carr didn't get hit a ton. Like even, you know, Gruden's out of the league 10 years. He figured it out. Get a quarterback, fix your O line. Like, those are the first two things to do. I mean, it's not flashy. It's not the positions that we individualize and talk about,

but it's very necessary. There's insurance on your house, but you got to have it. You need that. You need that. Finally, the AP released their college football rankings for week three. Clemson is still in the top spot. LSU beat Texas 4538. Showed a lot of offensive firepower. So they are number four ahead of Oklahoma.

They are the third team now from the SEC in the top four. I'd put LSU number one and slide everybody down. They're the best team I've seen. I think LSU looks really good. They can finally pass. You said Clemson? You said Clemson's going to be like the best offensive college team ever? They are, but they haven't played like it.

and I don't love Clemson's defense. I take Michigan out of that top 10. That's just a hardball vote. There's no way you can watch Michigan so far this year. I'll tell you who should be in there. It's Michigan State. Michigan State look great this year, and they host Arizona State this weekend.

Michigan State, we're just putting Michigan in there because of hardball. And I love Jim, Michigan State should be 10, not Michigan. Michigan State has looked as thumped two teams. Well, Texas dropped three spots after the loss to LSU, and another note is that USC found its way back into the top 25. They are 24 beating Stanford. They go to Pro Bowl this weekend. First road game for their freshman quarterback.

So BYU just beat Tennessee, so they're feeling great about themselves. That's a freshman on the road, first college game on the road. BYU at home, watch out. Yeah, be a little careful. Joy of the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News.

We do it every week. There's a lot of press conferences in sports. A lot of people go into those press conferences and there are a bunch of BSers, and they don't really tell you what they mean because they're trying to be PC or they're blaming somebody else. And so over the course of time, Joy and I, we created this segment where we'll find four or five press conferences. Wouldn't it be great if people came up to the press conference and they were honest

and they really said you could really get information out of it, but it ends up being very political and you're covering your arse and you want to make sure you get a message out. we do something called a presser cooker where this is what really should have been said or what they were trying to say and they failed that. The presser cooker segment is coming up next.

Car shopping, very confusing. It doesn't have to be. Go to Truecar.com. Use car, new car, doesn't really matter. It tells you the fees and accessories before you get there. Truecar.com. 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. It's great to have you in. Really nice to have you in. So, great slate of NFL games. College is a little Spartan this week. There's not a ton of great college games. There's about four or five I already want to watch.

NFL schedule is just 11 of 13 games in the NFL or one possession games. Joy and I have talked about it. The first week was fascinating. We have an NFL team that's 10.000. tanking and team players are complaining about it. We had one young quarterback, Lamar Jackson, set records. Another one, Kyler Murray, go man overboard early but look good late. Dak Prescott looks to be worth every penny.

Mahomes is getting better. Brady's not aging. The old coaches had a great week. The young coaches all struggled. And so it was just a, it was a really good first week of the NFL. The ratings were very good. I've always said the NBA is about stories. We don't really watch the games.

The ratings aren't very good until the finals. But the NBA is a very good story league. That's why I talk a lot of NBA. It provides me great stories. The NFL, we watch the games. When we sit down on Sunday, we watch the games. We bet the games. But the other thing, the NFL, and I think the NFL is smart about this,

they're stealing a little bit of the NBA. They're like, that story thing they do, they're really good at it. An NFL free agency, they moved it to March. So we talk more about it before the draft. And listen, the NBA is, not the NFL, but it does some things better than the NFL, or certainly it fits their culture. And I think the NFL is giving us some really good stories so far this year. I don't even know what to make of, I mean, Lamar Jackson now and Kyler Murray have kind of

overshadowed Jimmy Garoppolo, who's the one quarterback I really wanted to watch. I haven't even thought about him. And now he's playing Cincinnati this week. I don't know how much I'm going to watch that game. So we do something every week. We call it Presser Cooker. There's a lot of press conferences, and it's a lot of bull. and I wish they would come up and just say what they really feel.

You do not see that a lot by people at press conferences. And I wish we saw more of it. So here we go, another version of Presser Cooker. Every week we hear a lot of people yapping. Now, Colin's going to tell us what they should have said. It's time to step inside the Presser Cooker. All right, Alabama head coach Nick Sabin was pretty angry. angry after students left early during the Tide 6210 blowout of New Mexico State.

The coach did not think it was his problem, but someone else is, and here's what he had to say. I hope that there's something that we could do that would enhance their wanting to stay and have the spirit to stay and all that. But I don't really know much about all that stuff. You know, that's not my cup of tea trying to figure out how to stop, you know, Snag 7 flat. Okay. So what should Nick Saban have said about the students leaving early? Listen, I got to be honest about this is, this is on me. I mean, I schedule more cupcakes than a pastry chef. We'll play anybody as long as I don't have to go north of Atlanta or west of Dallas. Listen, last week I got uncomfortable. We only led by 38 at half. I like to leave by at least 60 at half.

Let's be honest about this. I don't care. about this. I want to face Auburn off a by. Then I got to face Georgia. I win that and get back at Clemson. What are we talking about? I'm just trying to stay healthy and face Clemson again, because that's the only team that can beat me basically in the country. So, I mean, by the way, my Alabama students, we know they're not going to study. It's Alabama, right? Any students are to care about football. I don't care about anything else. All right, to the Patriots, Tom Brady, had another impressive game against the Steelers on Sunday. Three touchdowns, zero picks.

Patriots beat them 33-2-3. Tom improved the 12 and 4 against Pittsburgh in his career, but after the game, he said this. Well, we got a lot of work to do. We could be a lot better, I think, than we were it tonight. I think, you know, we got to get back to work and do a better job next week. Okay. What should Tom Brady have said?

I thought the Super Bowl was easy. I didn't know if I should throw a pass or take. take a nap. You know what? We should have played that game at Heinz Field because the Steelers were playing catch up five minutes into it. I am hilarious and good looking and rich. I mean, listen, I feel bad for the NFL. You guys keep putting us in the Steelers in prime time. It probably killed your ratings. Don't worry about primetime games. It's called the AFC championship in the Super Bowl. We'll be there in prime time. So I feel bad for the NFL. That would be earth-shattering, but everything you just said is 100% true.

To the Browns, they suffered a 30-point loss at home to the Titans on Sunday, committing 18 penalties in the process. And after the game, Brown's head coach, Freddie Kitchens, said he didn't want anyone making a big deal about it. All right. What we have to refrain from doing right now is overreacting. It's one game and a 16-game schedule. We're very disappointed in the lack of discipline that we showed, the loss of composure that we showed. showed at times and just overall not doing a good enough job. Okay, what should Coach Kitchens have said? Do you watch the game?

That was a real kick in the head. I mean, literally, we had a guy kick somebody in the head and get ejected. I mean, there were 18 penalties. You see that? The 18 penalty, we have more flags than the United Nations. We should be incredibly concerned. Listen, I'm the head coach. of the Cleveland Browns.

Now, I want you to think about that for a second. There are contestants on Survivor that have more job security than I do. So I'm not going to, I'm not going to lie. I'm very likable guy. I'm not a very hireable guy. And that thing was, I am petrified. I am petrified this point forward.

It's a little bit of perspective there. Let's say with the Browns, Odell is in hot water again this time for wearing a watch during Sunday's game. It's a very, very, very pricey watch. Some say it's worth 350,000. The NFL has said he's not allowed to wear it again because it's a hard object, but Odell said he's going to keep wearing it.

He tweeted, if it ain't one thing, it's another. Tweet that on Monday. Okay, so what should O'Dell have said about this whole watch controversy? I mean, it's ridiculous, isn't it? Like this, like this thing I'm wearing here, like this thing I'm wearing, Joy, like this is a distraction. It's not a distraction at all. Give me a break on this thing.

I mean, like anybody can see this thing when I'm on the field. I got to be honest with you. You know why I'm wearing this, Joy? Why? To keep track of how long I have left in Cleveland. Oh. Like I'm out of here in like three weeks we play the dolphins. I am out of here.

I mean, this doesn't affect me on the field. I mean, the reality is I can still catch all of Baker Mayfield's overthrowes wearing this thing. Nobody's noticing this thing. It's ridiculous. By the way, the league's against me, making a big deal just because I'm wearing this tiny little watch. No big deal. It is. You were right about it, though.

It is plastic O'Dowell. It's definitely not metal. That's another edition of whatever this is called. Presser Cooker. This has been the Presser Cooker. So there you go. So we'll see. I will say this, as much as I bag on, as much as I bag on the Cleveland Browns, has anybody, has anybody,

One of the things I like about the NFL is there's just constant information that matters because you have one game a week. So there's constant urgency. I don't know if you guys have paid any attention to what's happened to the Jets. C.J. Mosley may not play. Sam Darnold's sick and hasn't practiced. They tried out kickers yesterday. They settled on one. They brought in five. Quinn and Williams may not play. Their number two wide receivers now out for the season. Jets are, we're in week two. and Adam Gase is getting crushed in the New York media

because he's not taking any heat and he's blaming everybody. The Jets host Cleveland. This is the perfect spot for the Cleveland Browns. They were embarrassed on national TV. They looked terrible. They had 18 turnovers. And this is not an excuse. The Jets are falling apart.

The previous jam was so bad. So they re-sign this receiver. And now he's hurt again, neck injury, probably careers over. They just had to acquire Demarius Thomas. They're just running out of receivers it's week two. And the weakness of the Jets is corner, and the strength of the Browns is wide receiver. So I actually think they'll get really healthy.

I think Cleveland will come back. Now, I don't think Cleveland's going to be particularly great in the first six, eight weeks of the year. I think you have a lot of losses. But it's not hard. If you look at their schedule, they don't face the quality of quarterbacks or the quality of pass rushes the last six weeks of the year.

Cleveland's going to win a lot of games late. I don't think they're going to win a ton of them early. This one plays right into their wheelhouse. You're making a lot of strong points, but when you say them wearing an orange camo hoodie, you kind of lose some of your credibility. Well, when you do press or cooker, you have to really play the part.

I have to be an artist. And I had to play. And our radio audience couldn't see the watch I was wearing. It was a clock from the hallway. So we velcroed it to my arm. The other thing about this weekend in the NFL that'll be interesting to keep your eye on. So the Patriots were dominant, right?

Right. So they play the dolphins. Belichick tends to not rub it in to his former coordinators and assistants. And Brian Flores had players threatening a mutiny this week, and that's Bill's guy. So watch the players deactivated by New England and Miami. Watch their game. So you look at the game and you think they beat Pittsburgh by 30. They'll beat Miami by 60.

The line's only like 18. and I think what people in Vegas are telling you is Bill will not run it in, run it up on Brian Flores. Only 18, huh? Well, I mean, again, I'm not saying it's nothing, but when you lose by 40, it'll... No, I don't think they're going to lose by 40 again. No, I don't think they will. By the way, compete every day. It's MDrive for Men.com.

It has natural testosterone-level boosters, M-drive boosters, M-drive boost and burn, burn your fat, feel the energy, have more stamina, Refind Your Prime with MDrive. We'll see you tomorrow. Speak for yourself is right around the corner. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the big. biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline.

And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraging. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed Human. Thank you.