The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Packers-Eagles, Baker Mayfield, and 18 game schedule

Episode Date: September 26, 2019

Colin discusses the Green Bay Packers slowly transitioning from QB Aaron Rodgers and their game tonight against the Philadelphia Eagles, why he feels Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield is getting a raw deal, and why he doesn't want the NFL to have a 18 game season. Guests include Doug Gottlieb, Greg Cosell, Andrew Siciliano, and Bucky Brooks. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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As the films say with Greg Cosell, I can't wait. Tonight we've got the Philadelphia Eagles, a desperate team seemingly at Green Bay. I like Philadelphia to upset the Packers tonight. I'll get into that. Joy Taylor is joining me, Joy. How are you? I'm great. Very excited for tonight.

Yeah, tonight's a great game. Tonight would be the best game if it was played on Sunday. So you've got the 3-0 Packers who have kind of struggled and stammered offensively, but very good defensively against the Philadelphia team that's had injuries at left tackle, injuries at wide receiver, defensive back issues. They're healthier now. left tackle back, wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey back. I like Philadelphia, if I was betting it, not in my blazing five, but I'd take Philadelphia

plus four tonight. But it's interesting, Green Bay is a team in transition. And of course, New England last year was a team in transition. And about two years ago, New Orleans became a team in transition. But Green Bay is different than those two teams. New England became last year a power running team. Why, Tom Brady's 42? They now draft a running back every year.

They're much more. reliant on the running back. They have the deepest set of running backs in the league than Tom Brady. And Drew Breeze a couple of years ago, New Orleans stepped up. They started drafting running backs, paying their offensive linemen alike. But with Breeze and with Brady, there is a reason. They're old. Aaron Rogers is not. He's 35. He's a young 35. He's always kept himself in great shape. He eats well, smart guy. He's got most believe he's still in his prime. I think he's slightly out of it. but I think he's got at least three to four tremendous years left. But Green Bay made a decision two years ago.

We want to be less beholden to Aaron Rogers. Because the downside of being beholden to Aaron Rogers was he wasn't getting along with Mike McCarthy. He'd had teammates take shots at him. He could be condescending and difficult. And despite what Aaron and Green Bay people deny, the articles came out. They said this time when we hire Matt LaFleck, lure, you don't be the problem. They, of course, denied,

I still believe the article. So, if you watch Green Bay tonight, much like New England a year ago and New Orleans two or three years ago, they were teams in transition. And it's very interesting because Rogers is not old. Rogers is really, at least,

worst case scenario, just at the beginning of his twilight. Four good years left. But have you noticed, Last year, Green Bay was last in the NFL rushing 32% of the time. This year, they're rushing 44% of the time. Top 10 in the league. They ramped up their defense.

Now, Green Bay was smart. They knew they were going to have to pay Aaron Rogers, and they knew there wasn't a better college quarterback than Aaron Rogers, and they knew they were going to have to pay him. But this time, when they rebuild the football team, we're not going to be as Aaron dependent. Because we've done that for 10 years. and we've got a coach that's fired, a quarterback coach that's leaving.

We've had one good playoff run and, frankly, a lot of bad press, and we're tired of it. So teams are in transition all the time. Tennessee is going to be in transition in the offseason. They don't like their quarterback. The Saints in New England, great franchises, have been in transition with Brady and Breeze the last two years because they're getting old. Green Bay's in transition because sometimes Aaron's leadership can be condescending. he ad-libs out of plays and often gets hurt. And when he does get hurt, we come crashing down because we're totally beholden to him.

And what's interesting tonight, they face Philadelphia. And that's what Carson Wentz is close to. The two knocks on Aaron Rogers, he ad-libs out of plays and gets hurt. And his leadership, not always ideal. The two knocks on Carson Wentz, he ad-lips out of plays and gets hurt. and his leadership, players like Nick Falls way, way better. So you're watching a reality for Aaron and what could be another reality for Carson Wentz if he gets hurt again or they don't turn it around.

All the time, organizations and companies transition into employees, out of cultures, into employees, out of employees. And I think you're watching a Packer team that knew they were going to have to pay Aaron and should have paid Aaron, and I'm all for paying Aaron. But that 10-year run with Aaron was fraught with coaches fired, feelings hurt, overly dependent, and they decided we're going to be a running team, we're going to play real defense. And by the way, you're watching it. 37 possessions for the Packers this year, only seven touchdowns. Two of them last week were a five-yard drive and a 32-yard drive because Denver turned it over. They are transitioning.

out of depending on Aaron being great. Kansas City now is all in on Mahomes. They like him as a kid. They like his age. There's no injuries. They like his leadership. We're not going to spend defense. We're going all offense. But you can, and so Kansas City is very comfortable. Keys to the Kingdom. You get him. Deshawn Watson right now. It looks like to me, outside of the left tackle, they're very comfortable with everything with Deshawn. They're going to, they're going to keys to the King. Andrew Luck, Keys to the Kingdom. Seattle. Russell, Russell, Russell, Listen, pay you. But with Aaron, it's very interesting.

Watch the Packers tonight. Now, that doesn't mean Aaron won't be great. They are built now to be not as reliant on Aaron. And I think Carson Wentz, one more injury or a 500 season, not in the playoffs. They'll have discussions about moving off being as beholden. Got to pay him. He's too good not to pay. He's a quarterback.

We're not going to be beholden to him. All right. So I'm in a rare position this morning defending Baker Mayfee. Biggest game so far in the season for the Browns, although you could say Tennessee and the Rams Jets were all important. This week, Rex Ryan used to coach in the NFL, defensive guy, very, very good defensive coach, not a great head coach, but a very smart defensive guy

who looks at a lot of film, took a shot at Baker Mayfield. He said, quote, he's overrated as hell. Here's a guy right now that it's a one-reed guy, Baker, and he's going to improvise. He's got to realize one of the slowest guys on the field when you take off with it. The ball's not coming out in rhythm. He's staring down guys.

he's not accurate down the field. I think that's overly harsh. He has had accuracy issues. I do not blame those all on Baker. In fact, I think a big portion of those are interior offensive line. They have bad tackles. I don't trust Freddie Kitchens. Baker, of course, responded because Baker is,

despite what you think he's insecure, insecure guys get very defensive. Baker gets very defensive to criticism, and he took a shot, of course, he did it Rex Ryan. The wise words of Freddie Kitchens, if you don't wear orange and brown, don't matter. And Rex Ryan doesn't have any colors right now for a reason. So it's okay. Got to win the moment. I want to give you a couple of numbers. Ten of the 16

interceptions last year for Big Ben were targeting AB. Dak Prescott got better when Des left. Ocho Cinco left the Bengals. They won more games. Three teams got better when T.O. left. High maintenance wide receivers. And I think that's realistic calling OBB. B.J. High maintenance are difficult. And they're especially difficult for young quarterbacks. This is why the Cowboys got Des out of town. And did you notice when they went and got a receiver? It was the workaholic, the highly respected, the very mature Amari Cooper. That was not a coincidence. Young quarterbacks, it should be noted. Who did the Rams get Jared Gough, small college Cooper Cup, the very dependable, low-key Robert Woods.

Brandon Cook's heavy charity, very quiet. Have you noticed this? Needy wide receivers can be very difficult. They are especially difficult for young quarterbacks who are trying to learn the offense, who are trying to win the room, who are trying to balance the ego. So it's hard enough for Sam Darnold and Baker and Lamar and Kyle or Murray to learn the offense, go into a new sport, I mean, college football, the pros is a new sport, win the locker room. get the support of your coaches, and here comes OBJ,

which I said could be very problematic and won't last. So Jordan Palmer talked about an interception baker through against Tennessee, and OBJ didn't do what he was supposed to on the route. It's supposed to be an 18-yard dig, call it. It's supposed to be an 18-yard dig. And because the receiver's so used to kill in the DB or beating the guy covering him, which in zone coverage,

you don't need to do that. Get to the spot. he does an extra move and the timing's off and Baker throws it to a spot and the receiver's not ready. The pick goes on Baker's stat column, but the reality is, if you can't trust the guys are going to be in the same spot every single time,

then you've got to wait to see it. You're six foot, whatever he is, 6-162. The offensive line, as you pointed out, is the weakness. Now you're going to do what you have to do to survive. And for him in college, that was moving to his right. So it's very easy to bang on. Baker, but there's a reason the Rams acquired the receivers they did for golf, and the cowboys got Dez out of town, and went and got one of the more mature receivers in the league,

Amari Cooper. It is hard enough to ask Baker. Learn the offense. Third coordinator, third coach. He's now having to massage and take care of OBJ because he knows OBJ is sensitive. to criticism. He's taking shots at me. And the other thing Baker's being asked to do, in a weird way, David and Joku, the tight end getting hurt, actually strangely could help Baker's growth. That's one less mouth to feed. Because if you look at the stats so far with the passer rating, Jarvis Landry, when Baker throws to Jarvis, his passer rating is 31. So Baker's having to balance, the needs of OBJ, learn the system, new head coach, I got to keep Jarvis Landry healthy, what about the catches, Rex Ryan's take it shots at me. It'd be very easy for me to take shots

on Baker Mayfield and yell, I was right, but I think Rex Ryan's too harsh. I think OBJ was a very dicey proposition by the GM John Dorsey. And this is a very combustible situation. Now, if Cleveland wins this weekend, it's all good. But you got Baker trying to make sure OBJ is happy, and now Jarvis Landry and Baker aren't working. You've got a coach who was hired by the GM who just got fired in Kansas

City, John Dorsey, and if Freddie Kitchens doesn't work, then John Dorsey gets fired, and he's not getting another GM job. Did anybody see Jimmy Haslam, the owner in the box Sunday night? Did everybody see how intense he was? Dude, you're a billionaire. You always see Jerry

smiling and Robert Kraft smiling and has him sitting there like hovering over all of it becoming a national joke because he keeps firing people so you've got all this chaos and all this pressure and all this needs and you're putting it all on baker mayfield you got to be kidding me you've got to be getting me that's why i would not have hired freddie kitchens i would have hired as joy said yesterday mike mccarthy that is why i would not have gone after obj although i think statistically he'll be good this year i would have gone out and got kind of an Amari Cooper type player. So we can all bang on Baker on this.

I could take out the anvil today, but you cannot ask a kid in his 12th, 15th NFL game to juggle this many emotional footballs. It'd be asking me at 24 years old to be the face of a sports network with a bad boss. Joy would be just crazy old yell screaming at me, diva. I got Goulet who rarely shows up. to work, well, that's reality.

The whole thing would not work is what I'm saying here. You're putting way too much on Baker's plate. This would be hard for Breeze. Way too much on Baker's plate. And this may be the last time I'm very pro-Baker, but I did think Rex is too hard, and I think people are losing a perspective on how hard quarterbacking in this league is.

It's freaking hard. It is hard if you have Belichick. It's impossible with that mess right now in Cleveland. All right. So, Joy, you and I are not fans of 18 game schedules in the NFL. No. I'm going to tell you why this weekend and why tonight is a why you're right. And it's one of my favorite things about the NFL.

Plus today, Doug Gottlieb, Greg CoSell. We'll go to Green Bay with Andrew Siciliano. We'll join us from Lambeau Field. Huge game tonight. Bucky Brooks back in a second. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

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follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist. Kier 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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? this is Clifford Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, the Clivert 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 out.

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverd show. on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne.

Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. Wider.

This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard salsa or? instead of beer. I had a bogo. Well, then you got it.

Do you want a white collar or something here? Just take it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. How did you both?

I would buy it. Cutts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are.

I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Car shopping can be very confusing, a lot of different terms. Here's what's not.

Go to Truecar.com. Check out their true price. You'll know the fees and accessories. Before you get to the dealerships, you're not like overwhelmed with it and freaking out. Truecar.com. Just use it. Save 3 grand. I'm a big believer today.

There's so many choices for America. There's movies in your, the theater. There's movies on subscription TV, Hulu Amazon Prime. There's cable TV. There's normal TV. There's more malls than ever. Indoor, outdoor. There's just options for your dollar.

That's why we work so hard on this show. We're just hoping to get you for 12 minutes today because there's a million channels, right? There's XM series. There's radio stations. My stuff's on podcast. It's on Facebook. It's on YouTube. It's a million ways to get me.

A million options for entertainment. So I think as a sport you have to create urgency. People complain about baseball the length of games. Oh, hooey, who gives a rip? A good game's a good game. Baseball's problem. There's 162 games. I don't give a rip of a baseball game in the World Series goes four hours.

If it's good, it's good. Who cares how long a game is? Football games go four. I care that there's no urgency. So the NFL has urgency. Even a clown show win Sunday solves everything. So the NFL is considering going to 18 games. Joey and I don't like it for the exact same reason.

It eliminates slightly urgency. I'll give you a great example. This morning in the NFL, here's the takeaway. Baltimore is humming. They're doing everything right in Baltimore. Should it be in Kansas City. That organization knows what they're doing in Baltimore. This morning, we're also saying Cleveland's pathetic.

They can't do anything right. Hey, that is. That's like 75 people in an old phone booth. What a bad. Cleveland beats Baltimore Sunday. Cleveland's in first place. That's what baseball doesn't have. That's what the NBA doesn't have.

That's what the NFL has. The clown show beats Baltimore. And the clown show's in first place, right? And Baltimore, this well-oiled machine. Well, oh, we're tied and they just beat us head to head. And by the way, on Monday Night Football, Cincinnati plays the Steelers. So one of them is going to be

O and 4. My guess, Cincinnati. So now Cleveland only has to battle Baltimore, who they just beat, and Pittsburgh with Mason Rudolph. Win Sunday. Great example. Philadelphia. So you think to yourself, well, Colin, that's because the

AFC is weak. Well, it is weaker. But let's go to the NFC. So Philadelphia is one and two, and they've already lost to Atlanta in Detroit. Meaning, if right now, right now, now, Atlanta and Detroit would get a tiebreaker over Philadelphia in a wildcard. And if they lose to Green Bay tonight, that's the third potential playoff team in the NFC,

that they would lose if tied a tiebreaker. They'd have to have a better record to get in. But yet if Philadelphia wins tonight, they're two and two, they get extra rest to go home and play, oh, the New York Jets, they'll probably be three and two. And oh, by the way, Al-Shon Jeffrey's back, the left tackles back to Sean Jackson. Jackson's coming back. The Cowboys schedule gets harder. Philadelphia gets easier. Win Sunday, or in this case, win Thursday. This is what sports are losing their, you know what, on the time of games.

Create urgency. NBA, first round playoff series, three games. The ratings will go up. The Warriors, what? James Hardin and Westbrook lost the opening game to Denver. Oh my God. Now it doesn't matter. the Golden State, LeBron, win a game, lose a game. That's why I said with the NBA, you want your ratings to go up. First round, three games, second round, three to five games. Conference finals, you can do five to seven, final seven. That's why we have, you know, that's why I don't like conference championships in college football.

You can be, you know, mess all over yourself. But if you win this game, get to the championship. We keep adding games. And what we're really doing is eliminating urgency. Take the Browns and the Ravens. Cleveland wins Sunday. We're all like, Woo!

Always Love Baker. I told you, Freddie Kitchens, mayor of Cleveland. And Baltimore's really. You can't beat Cleveland at home? Moly Lamar's got a real ceiling on this. 18 games in the NFL, don't rob us of that urgency.

Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Melvin Gordon is finally ending his holdout. Sources say he will return to the Chargers today, but will not be available to play this weekend against Miami. during the holdout, he lost nearly one million worth of base salary in the first three games,

and is still subject to up to $1.2 million in fines. He will make the remaining $4.6 million on his salary and will be a free agent in 2020. I didn't love his holdout. So pretty much a disaster for Melvin Gordon, if you're looking at it from that perspective. It worked for Zique, but Dallas didn't have backups as good as Melvin did. Holdouts can work in all sports, but there's a lot of stuff to consider. couldn't have said it better. I mean, this never really felt like a situation.

I mean, even when Zeke's holdout was going on, Melvin's holdout was going on and we weren't even talking about it. It was obviously a thing, but there was nothing to report because it never felt like the charges were going to budge at all. Now, I felt like they should have. I feel like they should have paid Melvin Gordon. And even though their backups have been good, the charges haven't looked that great. And obviously, they're happy to have him back moving forward for the rest of the season. But from Melvin Gordon's perspective, he lost a lot of money.

and they clearly were, it feels like they were very clear with him, we are not going to pay you. Yeah, no, I talk to the Chargers, and they always said, we love him, we think he's valuable, but our numbers are off. So why don't you come in and play? We'll get to a number close. But if you don't play, you're going to get fined,

and you're not going to get money back. So I think he got bad advice. I don't think it's a Melvin thing. I think this is he got bad advice from an agent thing. Right, because this doesn't feel like a, it never felt like a strong force of hand. I think we all felt like Zeke was going to eventually get paid

and Zeke was willing to sit out as long as he needed to in order to do it. And Zeke's representatives said Jerry loves star players this has a Super Bowl roster feel to it and Zeke's a really big part. This San Diego Chargers, excuse me

the Chargers were 4 and 0 without Melvin. They played without him. When the Cowboys tried to play without Zeke, it was man overboard. Chargers played four games without Melvin and won. So, I mean, they were used to like, okay, we got our backups for a couple of weeks. Sometimes you get bad advice from agents. That's really what it came down to.

And it wasn't even just that we weren't in the room for what those negotiations were. It just the noise and the stories surrounding this holdout were that this is just very simple. It's very cut and dry. They're not going to pay him. You're going to lose money. And it never really felt like there was a trade option for him out there either because whoever traded for him is going to have to spend a lot and then give a lot and then spend a lot on Melville. Gordon for the less of his contract. By the way, Melvin's not a good player.

No. It's just a situation. Yeah, like everything is situational. And Melvin should have said, you know what, this is not the time. Zeke, I didn't like it, but he had leverage. Exactly, which is what you need. So Drew breezes on the men from surgery to fix the torn ligament in his thumb. He opted for a repair with an internal brace on the ligament in hopes that he

giving me back sooner than expected. It's something that immediately gives it strength and stability and allows you to start rehab right away. You don't have to be immobilized. You don't have to be in a cast for a couple weeks. As far as the timetables for getting back, you know, they say six to eight weeks. I think I can beat that, but I'm just going to take it one week at a time and see how things go. I mean, Drew knows his body better than anyone else, but this feels like you want to make sure that he's 100% before he comes back. I think they're going to beat the Cowboys. I think New Orleans defense. If you, see, I watched the Seahawks Saints game.

Joy, that game was not competitive. Like, they absolutely crushed Seattle in Seattle. I could be wrong on this. Remember I said before the season, I'm pulling back on New Orleans. I got to be honest with you. Their defense is exceptional. I did not pull back on New Orleans this year, but obviously no one anticipated Drew Brees getting hurt.

That said Teddy Ridgewater stepped in and not missed a beat. They do have the Cowboys Sunday night, which is going to be a huge game coming off of a huge win in Seattle. And then they have the bucks at home at the Jags, at the Bears, against the Cardinals, and then a buy. So if I'm Drew Bree, I'm just waiting until after the buy to come back. Just make sure you're 100% healthy. And this is not a Cam thing where Cam may be thinking, are they ready to move up?

It's Drew's job. Yes. They bought Teddy in for these moments. The second that he's healthy, he will be right back out there. It's not even a question. Finally, Clemson is looking to repeat as national champs and head coach Davos Swinney is very confident his team can do it. He's so confident, in fact, he said he fills out a calendar for his team every summer and he always plans to win it all. He said, it says we're playing to win.

Already got the parade on there and everything. It's what we do. We've always done it that way. He's very likable. I think he and I are going to have a connection at some point. Because we are, he's a very nice guy and I'm a nice guy. So we're two nice guys. We've got to get along.

He used to call me cowhead or something. What did he say about you? Well, after they won the title, because I called him overrated because I watched them play four times that year in September. October. Maybe you're overrated? Yeah. And I said, I've seen this team play four times. They can't get out of their own way.

Or you didn't do your research? Yeah, he yelled at me. I don't want to misquote him. I think he'd like me. Because the real quote is just so good. I think if he walked in, he would like me. I think he would. Yeah.

Well, maybe he's a grudge holder. Who knows? He doesn't look like a grudge holder. He seems very nice. I don't know. But I don't, normally I would think this is a bit of an overstep, but it's Clemson. So I think it's kind of fair. ACC, Florida States of Mass.

Miami doesn't have their act together. They won 19 straight games going back to last year's undefeated title run. And they have no more ranked opponents on their. regular season schedule. Oh, Lordy. So. Wow. A joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Ly News. Hey, Gottlieb, get on here. Nineteen 19 straight wins for Clemson? Good Lord. They're very good. So, Gottlieb, you know everybody in college sports. I think Davo looks like a really nice fun guy. Is he? Do you know him?

What is the term that is used? He's a force multiplier. What's that? What do you mean? What's still a Jets coach who's on Rex Ryan? No, no, no, who's also Cleveland Brown's head coach, former Patriot. Eric Mangini. Eric's a friend of ours. We've worked together at multiple places.

I'm sorry, Eric, I blank for a second. He calls it a force multiplier. So I got to do a show last year from Clemson, a college football show from Clemson. And so I went there and I know the basketball guys really, really well. I know a couple of the football guys, a couple of guys in the athletic department. And I said, like, what's the deal with Davo? And they said, when he was the wide receiver coach before he became the interim coach before it became the head coach. That's right.

When he was the wide receiver coach, he was the office that all the guys, non wide receivers just stopped by. He just has a magnet. He has the it, if you will. He's a force multiplier. He walks into a room. And to all of us, you know, in the West Coast or maybe the East Coast, maybe some of the God stuff feels hokey. But it is real for him. Yeah.

And people are, and they use the term all in. They are all in. Now, look, it's fair to say the ACC stinks, and they actually haven't played their best football yet. And I don't think they have to play their best football to win the ACC and to get to another college football playoff. But the Davos-weeney thing is real. It is legit. Here's the other thing, Doug, coaches don't leave him. Like we all know. I mean, Brent Venables is a guy who could take a head coach job.

Now he gets one of the things he gets compensated at a level of head coach job. And he doesn't have the pressure. And you work for an amazing guy who is about the right things. He is a force multiplier. offended Baker Mayfield today. I don't do this much. And my takeaway is, listen, quarterbacking is hard for veterans. It's impossible for young kids. And Josh Allen is absolutely benefiting, as is Lamar, with a good owner, a good GM, a good coach, a good offensive line. Bill's rebuilt our own line. So you're asking now, this is why OBJ to Cleveland's

tough. So you're asking Baker Mayfield. You've got a GM who got fired in Kansas City. If it doesn't work here, he's not getting another job. And those jobs pay a lot of money. Got a coach has never been a coach. You've got to now have until two weeks ago, David and Joku, Nick Chubb, worst part of the team offensive line, Jarvis Landry, and OBJ, OBJ tends to demand the ball. I'm going to defend Baker on this. You're asking a 23-year-old kid with 10 starts, hey, run the franchise. I think Cleveland's done a crappy job with Baker. I would agree. We all like to read. Remember Freakonomics? The idea of Freakonomics is that you take all this to statistical analysis and you're more likely to or less likely to succeed in life based upon

certain factors, right? Education. Parents, education, parents, divorce, Mary, whatever. Think about this from an NFL for economics perspective. Are you more or less likely to succeed when you have, first, a six-foot quarterback. Second, a six-foot quarterback who hasn't started a full season in the NFL. A rookie head coach. A rookie head coach who's also calling plays.

You ask anybody who has called plays as a head coach, and they'll say, it's a lot. And remember, he's not in that meeting room all week long. Todd Munkin is, and then he parachutes in and calls plays. So there's a little, seems like a little lack of synergy there, like creativity there. Then you add in Odell Beckham, Jr., who I do feel, I agree with you here. It's a lot like when Randy Moss and Dante Culpeper. Remember Dante Culpeper used to try and gun the ball to Randy Moss all the time? And ultimately, along with fumbling and a knee injury, was Dante Culpeper's downfall.

I think there's a little bit of that. I just think that Cleveland has made this path harder instead of easier. If you look at the statistical analysis of likelihood of success between John Dorsey and he's a guy who even go back to Kansas City, it was talent above character in terms of who he would draft and who he would acquire. It's skill position instead of offensive line. All of these things leaves you less likely to succeed along with the fact that they've never really won there. Right? There's no culture of winning.

you haven't won. If 7-8-1 is a great season, that's, that's not, that's not a winning culture. So you put all this together. And yeah, it's a lot for Baker. It's a lot for anybody. And I don't think he's played well. I think the league has figured out he can't see because he is small. He does move and he's not crazy athletic. And then they have other flaws on that team, including their play caller, who's their head coach, who's inexperienced across the board. And I think that's why they've off to a disappointing start. Yeah, no, we really agree on that. And this is why I say, I'm not anti-Baker.

There's stuff he does that's nonsense. But, boy, if you watch how Buffalo is using Josh Allen, because we pay attention to Lamar, people will watch Buffalo for the first time this season. They have done an amazing job. They went and got three free agent offensive linemen. They draft an offensive lineman. I mean, they really said, we're going to keep the scores low. We're going to run the ball, and we're going to ask you to make about two big throws again.

In fact, oftentimes in the red zone, they don't even ask Josh to throw. They rolled out running backs. let him run. Like Buffalo has figured out let's make this kid from Wyoming. Right. Let's make it work. It doesn't happen to do with the Wyoming is a guy who's inaccurate, right? And look, Baltimore, and I don't know

if Baltimore ultimately Lamar works because he's so inaccurate as was exposed. But the fact is, they're trying to make, they're trying to tailor it to him. But you go back to Baker, and I know that you're trying to absolve some of the blame from Baker, but even go back to what he said about Rex Ryan and how he punched, you know,

how he punched back about Rex Ryan. Like, okay, if you want to say, you know, quote your head coach, if you're not wearing orange and brown, you don't know, that's fine. But to say like, hey, Rex Ryan is not wearing team colors for a reason. He's not coaching for a reason. Like, who does that as a quarterback in the NFL? Who does that? And it's the side of nastiness that you just don't need. No one else does for a reason. Yeah. No, I got a text from somebody in Ohio who covers Baker Mayfield for a living this morning, a talk show host. And he said, this is all body armor. Nobody's that. If any anybody in your life was that defensive, you wouldn't go, well, they're just very strong.

You'd go, what are they insecure about? All right, Doug Gottlieb's coming back. We had a lot of stuff to talk about. Tonight's game is fantastic. Aaron Rogers, at home, Carson Wentz. That is a big sandwich game. Make a big sandwich. Sit down three and a half hours.

More Doug next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 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, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

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

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents Soccer Mom. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend Janet.

Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey.

With all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white claw or something here? Just take it. What are y'all doing?

Microphones? Are you making a rap album? I would buy it. Cut through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You're lucky I'm not a killer.

I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. How many guys out there using your girlfriend or wife shampoo? Don't. Use your own. Get your own for your own hair. Dove men plus care.

Range designed to give your hair the care it needs. Available at Walmart, Doug Gottliebottley, to Dougger at Fox Sports Radio after our show. He's texted Aaron Rogers before, so they're very close. I have not. Aaron hates me. I do think Philadelphia is more desperate. They get Al-Shon Jeffrey back.

Their left tackle. I don't think Green Blaze really faced a legit offense. So their defense is good. It's not quite as good as we think. It's faced Flacco and Tribiskey and Kirk Cousins. I think Philadelphia Desperate comes in and wins a great. great game tonight on Fox. Very close. I know.

Well, look, Philadelphia's had the drops. I mean, Alshan Jeffrey will help. Two of them. Nelson Aguilar dropped a, what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass in Atlanta two weeks ago, and they had seven or eight drops last week. Wentz is playing better than I think some of the highlights would tell you. Yeah, and I think the numbers say he's four and seven in winnable games. He should be six and five. Aguilar dropped the ball and the other kid, the rookie from Stanford had a catch. So, again, sometimes numbers kind of lie.

Carson's better than his numbers. Well, I think that the issue here is, and I understand what you're saying about the offense that Green Bay is facing. I think Green Bay's defense is legit. You look at them leading the league and takeaways so far this season. The question is the offense, isn't it? It's 37 possessions, only seven touchdowns. Now, some of that's the defense. But Doug, you pointed out during the break, some of these drives of theirs are.

Averaging five plays per drive. Isn't that unbelievable? Yeah. Five and out is not, you would think, especially running. running the football, there'd be more long, sustained drives. Now, some of it, I had John Elway on yesterday on my show. How was he? He was great.

And he said, you know, look, our biggest issue is that we've been behind the entire season. We're always behind. And so that changes your play calling. Yes. It shouldn't. But you know how football guys are. Let's throw away the game plan. We're behind now.

Oh, my God, we've got to freak out. Whereas Green Bay, they've led all but six minutes. So they've played relatively conservatively. They've run the football, 44 percent of the. the time. I'd be intrigued to see if we'll see a shootout. Look, I thought Aaron has owned it. The fact that his side of the football has not carried their water. I'm not sure their offense is as talented as people would lead you to believe, especially at tight end. You know, you have Mercedes-Lewis and, you know, who's over the hill.

And, I mean, you have two tight ends who five years ago would be great, Jimmy Graham, but don't appear to be those guys anymore. But they didn't, Devonte Adams last week disappeared. I think that's a little bit on Green Bay's coaches. They never targeted him. Yeah. And look, it's only three games into an offense, which they didn't play together in live action in a preseason game. So there is a curve there. I actually like green. I actually like where Green Bay is. I like that they gave him a defense. You know, years ago, I was with Tony Romo, and I was telling him the story about how my daughter had to do like famous Mexican-American. And I'll never forget, when we were at the other place, my daughter fell in love with Tony Romo,

because Fox always does this close-up shots of people's faces. Yeah. And she woke up from a nap. She's like, who's that boy? Daddy has like, that's Tony Romo. She's like, I like Tony Romo. She just like like Tony Romo. She just, like, like, Tony Romo.

Yeah. So I told her the story and about how boys in class made fun of when she was like in third grade. She did a report on him. And I had, I armed her with Tony Rombo's the best fourth quarter quarterback in the history of the NFL and all this other stats. And he goes, look, none of it really matters that much. It's like, you know what matters? You better have a top 10 defense. It's like, go look, go track who makes the Super Bowl.

Who wins the Super Bowl? All of us have a top 10 defense. Nobody wins with a bad defense. Or the second thing is, and people don't think about this, a bad owner. Yeah, I mean, I think that's part of it. But, you know, like, look, the idea is the offense is great, and you do need a competent offense. And if you have a guy who can make plays and win you games, when you a playoff game, that's huge. But no one wins without a defense.

No one. And the Green Bay Packers, when they had Dom Capers, the talent wasn't good. with previous, you know, with previous front office issues, with previous coaching staff and the previous style, Mike Petten and, you know, Gunnkentz, and this front office has loaded them up. They're really, really good on defense. The question is offensively, when will it click?

Or will it click? Will Aaron buy into the system? And can he find a way to be the best version of himself within it? We don't know. And tonight should be a good opportunity because the Eagles have really lacked a pass rush so far this year. You know, it's interesting. I guess Nick Wright and Mangini were arguing about this this morning is that, you know, the feeling is that Mahomes will blow away everybody's records.

Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, that he'll blow away records. And I was saying it's really funny. When I was a kid growing up, nobody cared. I mean, listen, LeBron's going to crush Michael Jordan in records. Michael's the goat. Joe Montana has less passing yards than Vinnie Testaverty and Matt Ryan. Nobody cares. Baseball used to be the stat sport, but once everybody started taking cattle steroids,

they're all distorted, nobody cares. It's funny about Patrick Mahomes. I'm hearing all this, always going to be the next, the next, the next, the next, the next. They have decided right now, that team, I don't think Kansas City can win a Super Bowl with that defense. I don't think they can. And it's going to be funny to watch Mahomes. We're all into this shattering records crap.

But is he going to become Marino? Because I don't think Kansas City's defense, and Andy Reid listens to my podcast. I watched them last week. That chief's defense cannot win a Super Bowl. Brady will figure out a way to manipulate it and keep them off the field. I don't think they did a pretty good job. I mean, Lamar Jackson had two completions that were absolute prayers. Yeah, but the time of possession, they kept the ball away from the home for 30-some minutes.

No, look, everybody knows kind of the game plan. But, okay, if you don't like them, I guess you only like the Patriots. That's the only other, who's the other viable team in the AFC? Okay, I got to tell you. Like, I love the Chargers, but they just got Melvin Gordon back, but they still don't have Derwin James their best player. They can't ever, Hunter Henry's not healthy. And they find ways to lose games they should rightfully win. You know, like, tell me who you do like if you don't like the Chiefs.

But the greatest thing they got, but the bottom line is getting to Super Bowls won't matter. And he's been there. And nobody cares that Marino went and lost. They got to win something with him. I agree with you. Okay. You're right. But you have to understand that you're talking the Kansas Chiefs who historically always lose at home in the first playoff game and even lost at home last year. They used to be, they're the punch. line. They're the punch line to every joke about choking in the playoffs, right? The biggest comeback, I think

in AFC history was Andrew Luck against the Kansas Chiefs, wasn't it? Yeah. Right now they're the envy of the league because in an offense-heavy league, they got the best weapon, and they have other weapons that fit, and they have a great offensive mind. I think they're going to shatter, I think they're going to blow away records all time. They are, and here's an important

note, okay? Sport has changed, because everybody's playing fast, because the rules have changed, because you can't touch the quarterback, there's more snaps, right? There's more opportunities. There's more passes. There's more plays, more completions. I've never been a stat guy. So it doesn't matter to me. Like to me, I don't, I don't care about stats. Were you a stat guy? No, but I mean, like, look, you and I've argued this with Russell Westbrook for years, you know? I get it. Triple double. Great. Okay, but the stats are skewed. They're on steroids. The question is, can the Can City Chiefs win a Super Bowl?

And I would say, yeah, I kind of think they can because if you look, now last year's Super Bowl, was an ugly game, 14 to 3. But the previous year, right, how many yards the Philadelphia Eagles have? I mean, the Patriots didn't get a stop and still had a chance to win the game. This is the way the league is going. And it's no longer about how many yards you give up.

It's about takeaways, third down conversion percentage, and red zone defense. And if the chiefs can be reasonably good, I generally agree with you. Ultimately, you're going to keep him off the field, the Patriot way of running the football, and somebody from the NFC, the issue is, tell me who, if you don't like them in the AFC,

outside of the Patriots, and Tom Brady is 42 years old, tell me who you do like. Yeah. I struggle to come up with an answer. Yeah, no, I mean, that's why, you know, Doug, the biggest story in the NFL this year happened in August, when Andrew Luck retired, that was Patrick Mahomes. Because think about this.

We have the veterans we all like, Brady Breeze, right? And then we have all the kids we like. There was only two guys in the middle, Russell Wilson and Luck. Those were like the 30-year-old guys. that were like the middle guys. We have the old great guys and the young great guys,

and Andrew Luck left. Who's the middle guy? It's now Rivers, Big Ben, Brady, and then it's Deshaun and Baker and that. Mahomes is, and Mahomes, by the way, feels like even though he's a young guy, he's clearly the best young guy. And by the way,

you mentioned Deshaun, like, again, the Texans have become what the Chiefs used to be, right? Where really good in the regular season, can't win in the playoffs. Yeah, they're interesting. I will tell you, you talked to the Chargers, they would say like, man, Deshawn Watson was the best player on the field by a mile last week as, as, you know,

they came in and beat the Chargers. They got behind and he just made plays. You know, Doug, I'll say it. I've been pretty accurate on the quarterback thing. And I know it's hard because circumstances, we got 20 seconds. I never understood the criticisms of Deshaun Watson out of college. It was because during his final year at Clemson, when he tried to be a quarterback, he was a high turnover guy.

When they got to the playoffs, he ran it more, but you can't run it a bunch in the NFL. He has had two ACLs, but that was what held Chicago back, for example, from drafting him. I like him. Doug Gottlieb the Dugger after us. Fox Sports Radio. Greg Kosell around the corner of the herd and a Thursday. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHard 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 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?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms.

So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider.

This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here?

Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky.

I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ah, here we go.

Hour to this. Live in Los Angeles is the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Big news on our show. It's fantastic. We can't tell you. You're welcome.

Greg Kosell in a couple of minutes. Joy Taylor is joining me. Greg Kossel is our NFL meat sandwich. Tomorrow at this time our Blazing Five, which is my five picks of the week. And I happen to be, I don't know. the world's hottest sports caballor. Anywho, Joy, how are you? I'm great. How are you?

Good. I saw some advanced stats. These came from Greg CoSell. This is interesting. So having a clean pocket, meaning a quarterback goes back to pass and there's nobody around him, obviously beneficial, right? So these are the quarterbacks in the NFL that have had the most time to throw. According to advanced stats, Greg CoSell, Dak, Brady, Garapolo, Carr, Bressette, Mahomes. Outside of Derek Carr, they're winning a bunch of games. It's the bottom of the list that's interesting. the highest pressures, meaning bad offensive lines, Deshawn, Watson, Josh Allen, and Baker.

What's interesting here is, is Deshawn Watson's 2 and 1 could be 3 and 0. Josh Allen is 3 and 0. Kirk Cousins is, why is Baker man overboard with pressure? Because you keep telling me what a great athlete he is. And so I was thinking this morning, so he's 511 and a half, ran a 48540.

I ran a 4-7-9 in high school. Of all these great quarterbacks in the NFL that are young, tell me which one Baker-Mayfield's a better athlete then? Is he a better athlete than Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Deshawn Watson, Carson-Wenz, Patrick Mahomes? Don't say Mitch Trubisky, because Trubisky ran a much faster 40-time and was also just a better athlete coming out of college.

The athlete, you keep telling me how great Baker is, but yet when his offensive line deteriorates, his numbers plummet. Deshawns don't. Josh's don't. Kirk Cousins don't. We don't think Mario dao's any good, so you can't use him as a comp. Right?

He's done. My point is, who is the young quarterback in the league that you keep calling a statue? You tell me he's not an athlete. Every time I tell you he's good, you tell me he doesn't work. It's Jared Goff. Jared Goff is the only young quarterback in the NFL that ran a 40-time as slow as Baker Mayfield and golf six three and a half, Baker's 5, 11 and a half. You know, by the way, golf's 40 time, the statue was faster than Baker's.

So stop with a he's a great athlete. Now, I do think he has quick feet. And that's important. I don't think you have to be a burner. But whenever I hear this whole thing about Baker, it's like, oh, he's got, he's fast. And my takeaway is, well, we'll tell, is he a better athlete than Deshaun and Josh? Is he a better athlete than the recently retired Andrew, blah? is he better than Patrick Mahomes?

Is he better than Kyler? I don't think he's better than any of those guys. His 40 time and his cone drills and his verticals line right up with Jared Goff, who you keep telling me is a statue. So either Goff's a better athlete than you think or Baker Mayfield's not as great an athlete as you keep telling me.

I keep telling you, when Baker rolls out to the right, you ever notice he rolls right and back because he can't beat the defensive end of the corner? Because he runs a 4840. I'm not saying he's completely unathletic. He's got quick feet. Excuse me. But I think sometimes

Jared Goff's dad played Major League Baseball. Is it possible golf's a little better athlete, you think? A little? By the way, Oklahoma, where Baker Mayfield played, had four offensive linemen drafted in the NFL this year. Is it possible Baker had

a little help at Oklahoma? Four offensive linemen this year drafted in the NFL, NFL-wide receivers. brilliant head coach. So, you know, I'm not just banging on Baker to banging him. But God, if I have to hear again, he's, you know, he's really quite athletic and golf's a statue. If your dad's a major league baseball player, you got some good DNA. How many of you out there watching had a dad who played in the Biggs?

I think golf's a little better athlete than you keep telling me, and I don't think Baker's quite the athlete he tell me. And all the comps tell me, all my cone drills and 40s and verticals, they're the same guy. All right, Greg Kossel, 40 years, NF. My rant is over. Let's get serious now. 40 years of NFL films. This guy knows his stuff. Let's start with the New York Giants. You know, circumstances matter a lot for quarterbacks in this league. A coach, your old line. I watched Daniel Jones. I watched almost that entire game, Greg. It was fun. What did you see that you liked? I mean, he had that nice scramble to the corner of the end zone. He races over there and beats a DB. I liked what I saw. What did the film say? Well, I think, you know, I always start with how he looks in the passing game. He looked poised in the pocket. He was decisive. And I think that's always something you look for with a young quarterback.

Does the ball come out and does it for the most part go to the right place? He knew where to go with the ball. He delivered with timing. And for the most part, he threw accurately. Would I like the most, Colin? And this is what we don't talk about very much anymore because all we do is focus on guys who can run around is I love his pocket. movement, the ability to slightly slide one way or the other, to move away from pressure, keeping his focus down the field to still make throws within the structure of the play.

I think that, unfortunately, has become an overlooked element of quarterback play because we focus on the Lamar Jackson's and the guys who can just run out of the pocket. But I think that's such an essential attribute to play at a high level in the NFL. All right, Shanahan and Jimmy G. are 3-0. It's a very clever offense. it was mistake prone last week. But, you know, we both had our reservations about Jimmy G. We think he's talented, but he didn't start enough games.

I think now he's 9 and 2. I think we both think Shanahan's very clever. Let's talk about San Francisco. What do you see that you like or don't? Well, I thought Jimmy G played his best game of the season this past week. Toughness in the pocket, quick compact delivery, consistent ball placement on intermediate throws. And I think Shanahan does such a good job with how he attacks defense.

See, it's really interesting how Shanahan goes about it because he builds and structures his offense based on understanding the responsibilities of defensive players. So, let's say he calls ISO lead run action with the fullback, and they play with a fullback over 50% of the snaps this year, he knows how the defense has to respond to that. And then the past play that comes off that exploits the defenders that have to respond to the run game. He's really good at that. And I think that they throw the ball in the middle of the. field as well as any team in the league. And that's because they get those underneath defenders,

normally linebackers, they get them in conflict because those linebackers always have a run responsibility and a pass responsibility. And Shanahan knows how to attack that. Good stuff. Now, let's concentrate a little on the game for a couple of minutes here. Philadelphia is one and two, but it's deceiving because they've had drops that could have won those games. They could be three and oh. Left tackle's been an issue. Al-Shon Jeffrey. Now, is back. They lose tonight. They're one and three in the NFC. That feels a little problematic. Any panic with what you see on film with Philadelphia? Well, I think they've had some issues that are very problematic that need to get fixed. First of all, their run game has been anemic. They've

not done a very good job in the interior with their run game. I would say that losing Deshaun and these last two weeks, they've had no vertical dimension whatsoever, and their past game has been very, So that's been a problem. Defensively, I think the structure of their defense has not been able to play out because it's built on a four-man D-line rush. And they've not been able to generate pressure with their four-down linemen, putting major pressure on their corners, and their corners are not up to the test,

Sidney Jones and Russell Douglas, with Darby out now. And that's forced Jim Schwartz to probably, in my view, have to blitz more than he would ultimately like. So they've got a number of issues that can be corrected, but they're causing issues. Let's talk about Green Bay. We know the defense is improved, but they're only averaging five plays per series.

Now, they have played very good defenses. Let's not overreact. But of their seven touchdown drives of 37 possessions, two last week were short, five yards and 32, I think, because Denver had a turnover. Again, I just can't be too tough on Green Bay. I kind of feel like I've got to give him eight weeks. Is there something, they are running the ball more effectively, Greg.

Do you like that? Yeah, and I think that that's where ultimately a Matnell-Flore offense starts because of his history with Shanahan and McVeigh, it starts with the run game. And two weeks ago, Aaron Jones had the big game this week. His numbers weren't as good, but Jamal Williams' numbers were better. I think the past game will take some time to come around. But you hit it on the head. Right now, they're a defensive-based football team.

And Mike Patton does such a good job with the way he uses his season. safeties with how we structure as secondary, all his multiple front looks. So right now they're a defensive team, and we'll see what happens tonight. Maybe they get well offensively tonight because the Eagles, as we said, are having some issues on the defensive side of the ball. I want to talk about the Cowboys and the Saints. I think New Orleans is going to win the game, and I think I've understated, if you didn't watch New Orleans in Seattle, the Saints really laid it to them. They were really physical.

and I thought they beat him in a number of ways. The Saints' defense has surprised me. It's better than I thought. And I think it's the first time Dak is going to face a pass rush. Your takeaway, what are the same? I think this is going to be very interesting for Dak. It's going to be a big leap from the Miami's to the Saints defense. Well, these teams played week 13 last year, and Dak was sacked seven times.

And even though the Cowboys won the game, I believe, was 1310. And, you know, they really struggled to move the ball. The Saints did a good job versus Elliott. They played a ton of man-to-man coverage, and they won the line of scrimmage. You know, I think my sense is this could be another low-scoring game. I think Bridgewater, he was not very good last week, and I think they knew that. They had a very limited drop-back passing game. Yeah.

The game plan was clearly designed to limit Bridgewater as a passer, and the way the game played out, that tactic. Now, I think Teddy will probably get a little better with each game. I don't think he's a high-level talent. They probably know that. The issue is going to be Camara, because last year in the game, and the Cowboys did something really fascinating. They decided to go with six defensive backs on third down,

which they normally didn't do up to Week 13 last year, and they matched Jordan Lewis a corner man-to-man on Alvin Camara, and Camara had eight catches for 36 yards in the week 13 game a year ago. Yeah, I think we both like Teddy. 13-6 is his last 19 starts, but I think we both see him as a, you know, listen, there are guys that are tremendous backups. And I think he is a, he and, you know, I think Tannehill and him are really made to be great backups. And with that, I want to go to Jacoby Brissette, who you and I have said for a year, and I don't, my feeling has been, I think he's a franchise quarterback.

I just don't, I don't know how great he is. But I got to tell you, I'm watching Indianapolis with that offensive line, he's getting some time to throw. what do we make of Jacoby so far? I like Jacoby Brissette. I liked him coming out of NC State. I think you could make the comparison that he's somewhat similar to Dak Prescott. He's a bigger man, but I think stylistically,

he's somewhat similar. He throws the ball really well. They've speeded him up, which is what I knew they would do with Frank Reich and that staff because he used to be a little too deliberate. He's got good movement. He certainly has a big arm. They try to keep him in rhythm.

They do a really nice job with the rhythmic passing games, the ball comes out and they stay with the run game. So, you know, I think that he's a very solid, consistent to you to improve as he plays more. This is really his second year as a starting quarterback. You know, I text Chris Bowder when Luck retired and I wished him well and he said, our season is not over, not for a second. No. No. This kid's going to be a good player. Yeah, he's a real player. Now, here's what's interesting. Greg, I follow recruiting. I saw Kyle Allen in high school. It was as good a high school quarterback tape as I'd ever seen. He was the number one where you know this.

You follow this stuff. He was the number one recruited quarterback coming out, I believe, Scottsdale, right? Yeah, and his tape wasn't good. It was spectacular. Right. Then he goes to Texas A&M and someone recruits a million receivers and a million quarterbacks, and it's bumpy, and so he leaves. But I'm watching him Sunday.

I'm watching his feet. It's not a one-read offense. Greg Olson looked like he was 27. And Cam's lost eight straight starts. Now, let's get away from Cam's injury. Let's just talk Kyle Allen. again, I'm looking at size, feet, arm strength. Yesterday, Jordan Palmer told me on the show, bright, coachable.

Could Carolina, if Cam doesn't get healthy, is this a better team with him this year, Kyle Allen over an injured Cam? Well, that's hard to know, but I will say this. Now, Alan started the last game of the year last year and looked very good. Started this game this week and looked very good. He's decisive. He's willing to turn it loose. He was precise with his ball placement. a North Turner offense, it's one game.

So let's just say that's what he did in that game. He's obviously going to get a much tougher test in Houston this week with a somewhat depleted offensive line against a very good defensive front. But he throws the ball well, he knows where to go with it. Look, they were able to exploit the Greg Olson DJ Swinger matchup because he made some really precise throws. So we'll see. But, you know, he certainly looks the part.

And we know, as you said, because you follow this more than I do, but I didn't know he was the number one recruit coming out. The kids got talent. Yeah. Hey, by the way, Buffalo made my top 10. I think it's a real defense. I think their coaching staff is excellent. I think they're doing a good job to, how would I put this?

Put Josh Allen in positions to succeed. I don't think their offensive line yet is a great pass blocking offensive line. What do you make of Buffalo's 3 and 0? Because, by the way, I just read this last night. Buffalo's been 3 in 0 a lot, and they've had great September's before. I kind of buy this Buffalo team a little more. You? Yeah, I think that Alan probably had his worst game at the three this past week.

He still has some concerns. He still stays focused on his primary too long. He walks a fine line between that second reaction ability that can be positive and that negative recklessness. He can be overreactive in the pocket. They have a distinct profile, Colin, the way they have to play to win. They can't turn it over. They've got to run the ball with some effectiveness.

they're a good defensive team, and then they have to rely on Allen, and this is hard to do, but until second reaction plays. And he'll make enough good throws from the pocket. But he still has a ways to go, but they've got a distinct profile. That's the way they have to play. I'll be very anxious to see what Bill Belichick does this week. When you play, then, the last thing you want to get beat by, you don't want to walk out of the stadium and go, oh, Josh Allen beat us because he made great second reaction plays.

That's what you don't want to get beat by. Yeah, a big strong kid, though, that can move. Oh, he sure can. Yeah, finally. Deshawn Watson, you know, he has the most, he's the most pressure quarterback in the league. He can be an absolute escape artist. I mean, he'd be in a play last week. And your big play of the week is Deshawn Watson, so let's get to it.

Yeah, pressure's a relative term, though, but we'll talk about that another time. So let's get to the play and let's start it right now. And this was a touchdown pass that he threw to Jordan Akins, the tight end. The first one, not the one where he ran around. really well-designed play. It's a two-by-two set, and you can see the two inside receivers, Hopkins and the tight-end Aiken, they're going to run seam routes. Now, it's a single high-safety coverage, okay? It's cover three. So what you have here is a post-safety. He can't play both seams. It's as simple as that. So if you're not going to carry the verticals, then he can't

play both. So what does Shishon do on his drop? He looks left. Two Hopkins, and Hopkins is clearly the bigger threat. So what does the safety do? He looks that way and turns that way. Then you take Aiken's down the seam, and it's an easy pitch and catch throw. This is really well designed. You know, like I said, there's the linebacker Thomas Davis. If he's not going to carry the vertical by Aiken's, there's no way you can play this. And they know that from film study. So this is well designed, well executed, a pitch and catch touchdown. This is the kind of thing you really like to see in the high red zone. Yeah. Boy, I really, I really, enjoy watching Deshaun play. And I know he's not the perfect quarterback, but man, as far as TV

dollars, I get my money's worth every Sunday with Deshaun Watson. Yeah, I like watching. He's really good. He's still got to work through some things, and it's a fine line to coach him because you don't want to take away the movement, but on the other hand, he's also responsible for a number of those sacks. Yeah, no, no, no. It's like Andy Reid says, I'm not going to take the special out of my guys. I got to let him be special, but you got to put him in situations to succeed. Greg CoSell, big play of the week, manipulating the charger secondary in a road win. Greg, 40 years NFL films, great talking to you. Thanks, Colin.

Appreciate it. Good stuff. We'll go live to Lambeau Field. What's the weather there like? Goulet, do you know? Is it sunny and balmy? What's it like? It's late September, so I'm going to guess today.

It's 57 degrees. Oh, look at that. Oh, Lordy, I like that. I just like that chair. I'm just looking at a chair next to Lambeau. 63 today. That's nice in Wisconsin. That's nice in Wisconsin.

Good stuff coming up. Ron Wolf, one of the great GMs of all time, says, I blew it on Tom Brady. My scouts blew it and I blew it. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports life. 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

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

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is a good person. We have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me.

He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend, Janet. And we have been joined at the Hipsons High School. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip.

Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast we're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here?

Just hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot.

knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh.

Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tonight, Thursday night football is back on Fox. As Carson Wentz and the Eagles take on Aaron Rogers and the Packers and a huge NFC showdown. It all starts at 730 Eastern, 430 Pacific on Fox NFL Network, and streaming on Prime Video. Colin, the last question in today's Thursday night football Super 6 game is which team will win and by how many points who you got? Eagles 2726, Jet, the Packers, this game will be decided on third down. The Packers are 30th in the NFL on third down conversion. The Eagles are second.

So you have maybe the best third day, and that's with a left tackle issue, Philadelphia will turn third down. downs into firsts. Green Bay will turn third downs into fourth downs. That means time of possession could benefit Philadelphia, meaning they take the crowd out of the game. Philadelphia has the ball. Aaron watches from the sidelines. And I think Philadelphia is the more desperate team. It'll be decided tonight on third down. Not all games are, by the way. Kansas City games are decided by the second quarter. So I'm going to take Philadelphia to win 2726. And here is Joy with the News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is

the herd line news. Kyler Murray's drawn comparisons to Russell Wilson because of his size and style of play and the two quarterbacks will face off this Sunday on Fox. Cannot wait to watch this. Very exciting game. And Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll agrees that Kyler could be following in Wilson's footsteps.

He said with Russ, when he came into the league, it was a unique situation for a guy to come into because a lot of guys didn't think he was big enough to play the game or play the sport. I think he opened up the minds of other people. Now there are people that open the door for Kyler to get a shot and now they're both playing. Kyler Murray's measurements of the combine were 5'10 and 1 eighth inches,

207 pounds. Russell Wilson was 5'11, 204 pounds. So they're essentially the same size. Kyle's slightly shorter, a little heavier, but there is something to this. Now, that said, I think Russell Wilson's probably the most disrespected and underrated and unappreciated superstar quarterback maybe we've ever seen. How about in every sport in America? It's pretty fair to say. He does not get a lot of credit.

He has the second best pass rating of all time. He has a defensive head coach, has had below average offensive lines. Okay, we're seeing what's happening to Baker Mayfield with the battle line. Russell Wilson led the NFL in touchdown passes two years ago with the lowest rated offensive line. Tom Brady could not win two years ago with Russell Wilson's offensive line. I mean, he's a Hall of Famer. Oh, God, yes. And we refer to every other quarterback who is a given Hall of Famer as a future Hall of Famer, right?

Like we say Tom Brady, like Future Hall of Famer, Aaron Rogers, Future Hall of Famer. We never even mentioned that with Russell Wilson. That said, there is something to this. He has created an avenue for shorter guys, more athletic guys, and taken away from the stereotype of you have to be this prototypical specimen at quarterback. Here's the other thing. This is why Kyler Murray is, I think. a less talented version. In my opinion, he won't be as good as Russell Wilson.

They're both baseball guys. So when you watch Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray Sunday, I've never had any questions about how Kyler Murray throws a football. He throws a, he's a baseball player. So Russell and Kyler, like Lamar Jackson, I don't think it will ever be a brilliantly natural thrower. Kyler's a great thrower of the football. He's a little tiny for my taste.

But when you watch Kyler, that ball comes flying out. It is that he may have the tightest spiral in the league. He is a baseball thrower. And that's really what's come down to because Baker could be put in this category too. It's similar to the NBA like you were talking about Patrick Mahomes being compared to stuff Curry and like just changing the game. All sports are becoming more of a skill and efficiency sport. Right? Like it's all about analytics and how can you do things more efficiently, not necessarily the size and brute force because sports are becoming more safe also, particularly the NFL.

So I'm not going to say it's a new way that's going to take over and sweep the NFL. I still think that there is value in being taller and being able to take hits and all those things. But it has to be one prototypical type of body and player at that position. Yes. And it's a space league. And if you can create space and like Greg O'Ole, you know, Greg Kosell talks about this. Can you create avenues and lanes that didn't exist before the snap? Right. Vision. So right after the O'Dell Beckham trade last March, Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh,

that he thought the Browns had the most talent on an AFC North roster. Now that a few games have been played, he's walking back that statement a little bit. When I asked about his previous comments, he said, to me, that was an off-season question. I think at the time, they did have the most talent in the division. Now we're playing the season, and all that stuff gets determined during the season. It's about this part of it. It's not really a time to rank that. I haven't really thought about it in those kind of terms.

We're just trying to put a game plan together and do the best that we can on Sunday. You know, it's interesting. For the first time this year, Cleveland's getting no respect. They were favored to beat Tennessee. They were favored to crush the Jets. And that line with these Super Bowl Rams was three. Now there are a seven-point dog.

So for the first time this year, people think the Browns are going to go on the road and they're going to get dominated. This may be the opening for Cleveland to be what they should have been, Joy, a month ago, which was an underdog, not a favorite. And everyone's very high on the Ravens right now. Finally, Daniel Jones burst onto the NFL stage

by leading the Giants to an 18-point comeback last weekend against the Bucks. Despite all the praise he's received for his first NFL start, he knows he still has a lot of work to do. Yeah, it's extremely important. I think, you know, like I said, there's, you know, a whole lot that I need to to clean up, to do better, and, you know, I'll focus on that. I'll kind of, you know, lock in on those things this week and, you know, hopefully play better on Sunday.

He talks like Eli Manning. His hair's like Eli Manning. He really is. He can run. He looks like him. He plays like him. He can just run. Well, I don't know what to expect from him this week against the Redskins,

but it is a nice, at home against the Redskins. It's a nice second game for him coming off of that 18-point comeback against the bucks. And obviously, without Saquan Barkley. Now, it gets a little more sticky after that. They have the Vikings at home. Then they're at the Patriots, Cardinals at home, at Lions, Cowboys, and Jets. And then the buy. So assuming that Saquan is going to be.

be out until they'll buy. Such a bummer. I really had fun watching this game. Yeah. Yeah, it's, I mean. Watch his. Joy, watch this. He can move a little bit.

Like, he can move. Yeah, I mean, the Giants fans have a lot to be excited about. I'm happy that they've made the change, which they've done at the beginning of the season. But, you know, it is what it is. Hopefully they can, you know, let Daniel Jones develop a little bit until Seekwon gets back. They had no expectations this year anyway. So all you want to see from Daniel Jones is to get better every single week and for Seekwana

to come back healthy. Yeah, and we know. We know Shurmer's a good offensive guy. Is he a head coach? I don't know, but we know that he's going to get good play calls. I mean, they were clever last week, so Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Ly News. So Ron Wolf is sort of a legendary general manager. He's the guy that found Brett Farrv. Ron Wolf Packers years and years ago. He had a funny quote. He was talking about Tom Brady. He goes, blank, yeah, I would have taken Brady. Had I known this guy who he was.

I want to read you this, go ahead. I just know that we did a terrible job as an organization on Tom Brady. It was a joke. The reports we had. him. A disgrace. We had three reports and three different guys said he couldn't play. We could talk about this for five hours. They were completely wrong. I don't know how you could go to a Big Ten school like that and watch a guy play his career and say he couldn't play. I'll never listen to that blank again the rest of my life. So it's basically, now by the way, Ron Wolf hired those scouts,

so Ron Wolf's going to take some of it. But, you know, I don't, it's funny, I do not hold it against quarterbacks who whiff. I don't hold it against GMs who whiff on quarterbacks because outside of John Elway and Andrew Luck, I've never really thought, I mean, I've had doubts about all of them. I had doubts about Peyton Manning. I watched him live in college, and I thought he had nervous feet. It's bouncing around there all the time, and he wasn't very athletic. I thought Ryan Lee looked like a better, bigger, stronger prospect.

But there's so much about being a quarterback is about non-football stuff, commitment, focus, maturity, leadership skills, stuff I banged on Baker, Jay Cutler, Johnny Mansell on. It's funny because we were talking about Daniel Jones with Jordan Palmer yesterday. And Jordan Balmer, he had Patrick Mahomes in high school, and he's had Kyler Murray in high school. And he talked about, like, circumstances are like 50% of the game for quarterbacks going college to pro. For the last five years, he's been really well developed. It's well documented.

David Cutcliffe, coached a lot of guys at Duke and other places to the Manning brothers, all that. But he also has a private quarterback coach and David Morris, who used to back up Eli. So I'd say for the last five years, Daniel Jones, during the season and offseason, has been well developed. I would make the argument that some of these quarterbacks in their fifth year, Bridgewater, Bordels, Derek Carr, they're in their fifth year of being really well developed. I bought stock a while ago. I think Daniel Jones is going to be a star. So again, circumstances. He had a really good college coach.

He had a quarterback coach. He had Eli Manning's coach. He was friends with the Manning family. Then he goes to Pat Shermer. The Giants have upgraded their offensive line. Last week he has Sequin Barclay. He's got Sterling Shepard. Evan Ingram.

He's got nice players. He had good coaches. I mean, certain positions in the NFL are not based on circumstances. Let's take, like running back. Jonathan Taylor plays for Wisconsin. Jonathan Taylor is going to go into the NFL and Jonathan Taylor is going to be a very good NFL player. Now, I'm not saying Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin. It's not like he had to make a lot of guys miss on this play.

I'm not saying that Jonathan Taylor won't be better with a better offensive line. He clearly will be. Jonathan Taylor is going to go into the NFL, and unless he's got literally an injury or a terrible offensive line, he's a track star who's bulked up, can play. That kid, his career will not be as dependent. Christian McCaffrey goes to Carolina. Christian McCaffrey is going to work everywhere. Zeke is going to work everywhere. When Sequin Barclay got to the Giants, their offensive line wasn't good. He was still great. That's why Jared Gophiles jumps out to me. Look at Jared Goff.

Jared Goff in L.A.'s had two careers. The first career, he had a defensive head coach. They were on hard knocks, massive distractions, no receivers. His second career starts when he gets an offensive coach. They go out and spend a bunch of money on wide receivers. He goes from 54% completion to 63, and the entire move, they get a left tackle, they get two wide receivers, they draft the wide receiver. So he always had Gurley, but his circumstances change.

So Ron Wolf missing on Brady doesn't bother me. If anybody missed on Julio Jones, the receiver to Atlanta, when he came out of Alabama, tall, fast, strong, great hands, good routes, and incredibly coachable. If you miss on Julio Jones, you're a dope. If you miss on quarterbacks, 50% of this stuff is circumstances. So Daniel Jones, let's cross our fingers. It was fun.

That's all I know. Kyler-Marie, Arizona, it's fun. Daniel Jones Giants. They're no longer a tired, slow act. It was fun. Coming up next, we'll go to Green Bay, Andrew Siciliano, live shot from Lambeau Field. Never done one of those. That'll be fun. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

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

Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to 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. 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, is we have real conversations about on healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

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

Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne.

This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the Hipsons High School. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of your. later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate

our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Well, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just take it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album?

I would. Come on. How did you believe? I would buy it. Cutts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic.

You're lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, of all the American sportscasters, people always ask me, who do you listen to? Who do you watch? Well, I actually give Andrew Siciliano seven. to eight hours every Sunday of my life.

He lives in my living room. We do everything but serve him food. The Red Zone Channel, direct TV is just fantastic NFL network. He's joining us. This is cool, kind enough to take time via the Coward Global Satellite Network. All right. I'm going to get, you're a Brown's guy, so I'm going to get to that in a couple minutes, Andrew.

First of all, thank you very much. Okay. You're going to do Philadelphia Green Bay. Let's talk first Carson Wentz. I'm a fan of him. You've seen every snap. I think you can explain his way. out of losses. He's had two drops. I like Philly tonight. The criticism of Wence,

he's not dependable. They don't win enough. What do your eyes tell you on Carson and the Eagles offense? Well, a couple of things, Colin, number one, thanks for having me on. And I'm flattered. Thank you for watching on Sunday. You could always come into the studio. It's a B-Y-O-B kind of thing, however. As for Carson-W-W-Tenz, they're not running the ball at all. I mean, they're in the bottom third of running the football. This was supposed to be the year where they go get Jordan Howard. They draft Miles Sanders. They were going to fix their running issues. That has not happened. They need to run the football better. They need to start better as well. This has been a second half team, not a first half team. We remember what happened week one against the Redskins where they had to rally back and Carson Wentz helped save that day. This is a huge test because they are so banged up tonight. And they have a short week and they have to come here to Green Bay and face an undefeated team. Now, they do get the Jets next week. So this could be one of those ones. where if they can somehow pull it out, if Wenz or whomever can pull it out here tonight, then maybe things start to turn.

But it is not all on Carson Wence's shoulders, clearly. Whether it's what Pro Football Focus says was five drops last week or what the naked eye says was seven drops last week, he needs more help. Let's shift to Green Bay. I've tried not to be too judgmental. It's a new system. They're clearly, though. struggling on offense. Their average drive is five yards. Of their 37 possessions, seven or touchdowns, two last week were short field. They are 30th in the league and third down.

Andrew, something's not quite right. Should we just say this? Listen, they're trying to create a running atmosphere. They're running the ball more. This is a work in progress. Everybody slow down or does your eyes tell you, or do your eyes tell you it's clunky so far? I would say kind of all of the above. If I could choose two there, I would say, number one, it is clunky and number two, it is a work in progress. This is a unique situation here where the defense is carrying this offense. Mike Patton is the MVP so far. Mike Patton's defense is getting to the quarterback.

They're barely blitzing. The secondary, they're dropping seven half the time and they're making plays. When this team has had a top five defense, this team generally goes deep if not to the Super Bowl. Right now they do. Now, it's a very small sample size, but this is all about the defense. will, I think, come around because you have Aaron Rogers here, not Marcus Mariotta. Last year, it never came around for them, really. They ran the ball and Derek Henry got in a role in December, but the offensive numbers were never what they should have been last year

under Matt LaFloor in Tennessee. I don't doubt that they will get here eventually. It is still Aaron Rogers. Now, if they find Devante Adams a little more frequently, I think the fantasy people would be happy. The Packers would be happy. I'm not too worried about the offense yet. Let's shift to Baltimore and Cleveland. We think this morning everything's working in Baltimore and Cleveland's a mess. But if Cleveland wins there in first place, and that's why I love the NFL, just win Sunday. It solves a lot of issues. Rex Ryan was very critical of Baker.

I was in a rare position to defend Baker. I do not think this is on him. I don't. I think there's a myriad of issues. Why, as somebody who knows the Browns, watches him is a fan. What say you on the issues? with Cleveland, in your opinion? Well, I would say, first of all, that Baker has taken some responsibility.

He did it after the game. He's done it after both losses. He did it even after the win that they have to play a little bit better, and he has to play better as well. So I think he has said the right things. Would I prefer if he not claps back against Rex Ryan? Sure, but that's exactly the guy that you drafted. You knew this is how he gets himself motivated.

I really couldn't care less if he reminds people that Rex Ryan is on TV for a reason. And I think it was a little bit of lazy analysis too. Yeah, young quarterbacks often go to their first read, but the guy threw 27 touchdowns last year to say that he was overrated, I think is a bit of a joke. I think the offensive line is an issue. They knew it was an issue coming in. People say the Browns are losing because they're arrogant.

The only arrogance they had perhaps was that this offensive line could actually work. The first game, they had the offensive line injuries and the 18 penalties. I think a big part of this is the fact that you have a head coach, who is a first-time head coach, who was a first-time head coach, who was going through natural growing pains. He took responsibility for running it four times when they got down to the five yard line. But you have a head coach working with an offensive coordinator,

and they had never worked together. I mean, they barely knew each other. Todd Monkin well respected, Freddie Kitchens, well respected. But I think you are seeing natural growing pains and also a difficult schedule. The Titans get their credit, certainly. The Rams get their credit for winning the game. This is huge for the Browns,

because if they go on the road and they beat the Ravens, And it came down to a wink Martindale zero blitz with a couple of seconds left week 17 last year. Browns almost beat them in Baltimore. If they do win this one, then their schedule hopefully in the second half of the season turns their way. But it is huge for them this week. Well, I watched him for seven hours on Sunday, the Red Zone channel, Andrew Siciliano. Finally, you have a running joke about Kansas City that they're in the red zone, basically, you know, when they get the ball, they're in the red zone. When I watch the Red Zone, sometimes I say, Andrew, switch to this game and switch to this game.

and switch to that game. And then I think you can't just keep giving Andrew, you can't give everybody Patrick Mahomes all day. Do you get people that come up and say, show more chiefs? Because if you don't live in an area that has the chiefs, the team I want to watch every Sunday is the chiefs. So can you explain to our audience how you guys decide

how much chiefs, how much not chiefs, and that bit of it? We let the action dictate, obviously. The team is in the red zone, and it's in the first half or the game isn't a blowout, we're certainly going to go there. Last week we did, and people think this was on tape. I think you had like a 42 or 43 yard touchdown.

We did say, let's go here because they're on the 43, the plus 43. And for them, that is in the red zone. And they scored on the very next play. I got a bunch of tweets, people accusing us of faking that and knowing it was a, no, that was live. We just got lucky with that one. But Colin, I would go so far as to say that when he's inside his own 20-yard line, he's in the red zone. He had an 83-yard touchdown pass last week, and he makes it look effortless.

Nobody makes 83-yard touchdowns look like you're shooting free throws, and that is how good he is. I think it's great that our friend Charles Davis is calling the game this week because Charles is the voice of Madden, and now he gets to call what is, in essence, a Madden game, because he just got the 99, Mahomes did this morning. he is a living, walking, 15-year-old playing mad and sugared up and thrown to deep and making it look effortless every single series. Well, you do a great job. He's a terrific broadcaster, Andrew Siciliano. It's got to be one of the toughest things in sports, and you just do it effortlessly, skillfully.

And by the way, Andrew also doubles as an FBI agent. Put your glasses on. I swear to God, put your glasses on. Well, it's sunny here at Beautiful Lambo. Go ahead. And I walked over to the set with the glasses on. on and I asked you, should we keep him on or not? You're either a sports.

It's beautiful here. Look at him. He could be a sports agent. He could be a undercover FBI. Or he's Andrew. Yeah, he's either a sports agent or a Fed. Or a Fed, yeah. Whatever you want me to be. Andrew?

I'm just a dude sitting on the field at Lambo, six hours before the game. Great having you. Seven, whatever it is. Great having you on the show. What time's in are we in? Yeah. What time is it on tonight? 637.

Good having you, buddy. All right. Andrew Siciliano. There's a great job there. Yeah, I think I tend to think Mahomes is crazy. I mean, the stuff is just, he's so much fun. What's your sunglasses look? I don't think I've ever seen with sunglasses.

You know what? Hats and sunglasses don't do me well. Really? Those are some good shades. Those are good shades. I always, you know. I can see you with some ray bands. Well, I'm a, I have blue eyes, so I'm very sensitive to the sun.

Right. You know, because blue-eyed people are sensitive to the sun. And with that, I rarely wore them, so my eyes are more sensitive. so my retinas are probably just screaming at me. I'll be 65 years old and they won't be able to read within two feet of me. So some people look good in shades. Are you a shade person? Yeah, I have to wear sunglasses every day.

By the way, tonight I'm watching the game with my two dogs. Going to have Yosi on the right, buddy on the left. I'm going to take pictures of it. Two dogs, all watching on Fox. Eagles at the Packers, I'll take Philadelphia by one. Dogs. Dogs, NFL, Corona. And a big sandwich.

It's going to be a great night on Fox Sports. Final hour coming up. on a Thursday. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeard radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Car Shopping can be confusing.

Make it easier. Go to Truecar.com. It takes all the confusion out of it. Fees accessories. You know what you got before you get to the dealership. Bucky Brooks. NFL defensive back, five different teams drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Bills, who by the way are three and out, but they've been good in September a lot.

All right. So I, for one of the rare times ever defensive, offended Baker a little bit. But my knock on, I said this earlier today. So Jared Gough, I think is really good. I thought he was an A minus B plus prospect. Matt Ryan with a little better arm town. So that's what I thought he was. A little better than Matt Ryan, who I always thought was a B plus prospect. So, and then he gets McVeyn, it makes him look like an A, but he's more of an A minus prospect. But we always say it's a statue. You're not very athletic, can't run, can't do this. Well, his dad played in the Biggs, Baker Mayfield didn't. He's taller than Baker,

ran a faster, 40 and better cone drill, and the vertical's the same. And you keep telling me Baker's an athlete. And my takeaway is I'm watching all these young guys, Kyle Allen and Trubisky and they're all more athletic than Baker. Is it possible we've bought into the hype? Oklahoma had four offensive line drafted last year. Baker's short. He's not that athletic and he's being exposed.

Yeah, no, it's very possible. The biggest issue that I had with Baker when he was coming out, I didn't know what the special quality was that made him the number of one overall pick. When you go back through history at that position, the guys that play that position not only have their performance and the production, but they also have special qualities. Well, there's

A plus arm talent, super athleticism. There's a special quality to being the number one overall pick. Just look, Matthew Stafford, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck. Well, when we stack all those guys up and put Baker, he's not in the same thing. So, it's fine that he went number one overall. That was

the guy that they wanted. Well, then, if you're not one of those guys that is transcendent talent, then it's the elevation that the coaching staff can do to help you play at that level, whether it's scheme, whether it's supporting cast that they put around them. What we're seeing now in Cleveland is Baker Mayfield has kind of come back to the pack a little bit. He played great as a rookie. He's kind of coming back. The league has adjusted to how he plays, and the great players eventually figure it out,

and they adjust to the adjustment. Can he do that? Well, that's what we have to see. And if he can't do it, then can't Freddy Kitchens do it? One of the things that has changed last year when they went on the run at the end of the year, they played more what I call big boy football, run heavy sets, 12 and 13 personnel, one back, two tied in, one back, three tight ends. They threw on early downs.

When the defense is expecting run, he's torching the defense off play action. He's taking advantage of those situations. Well, now because they have OBJ, they have Jarvis Landry, they have more playmakers on the outside. What they've decided to do, we can play more 11 personnel, one back, one tight end, three wide receivers. Spread the field. Not working.

The league is built on defense to stop 11 personnel because that's what most of the league does. So now they're trying to play straight up and they don't have the advantages. And because they don't have the advantages, defenses are teeing off. And so they have to change and go back to what they did successfully to give Baker the best chance to succeed. I said yesterday I'm still a huge Carson Wentz-ish fan. Sometimes I can't win an argument because the numbers say he's not playing well. But four and seven in close games would be six and five if two balls weren't dropped this year. I'm still in on Wentz.

I like Philadelphia tonight. Are you as a former scout still in on Wentz? Look, I think he's still a very, very good player. I think he's a top prospect. You talk about Jerry Golf and Carson Wentz. They were one and two and they deserve to be that. The thing that we have to, and this happens with everybody when you are an evaluated when you were a coach. When you see how he played a couple of seasons ago when he played at that MVP level.

It is tempting to say, hey, we're going to put everything on his shoulders. He's going to be the guy that does everything and makes everybody right. But in reality, for most quarterbacks, you have to take stuff off of their plate. You have to lean on the other parts of the team to allow them to really play at their best. Two years ago when they won the Super Bowl, their running game was more of a factor. Legarrett Blunt, Jay, Ajai, Corey Clement, those guys kind of rotated, but they were able to be successful on the ground. They haven't been the same rushing attack the last couple years. Doug Peterson has to find a way to put more balance in the offense, so now Carson Wentz can throw in favorable situations, as opposed to, hey, we know it's going to be Carson.

He's going to have to do it against everything and loaded defenses. they got to take a little off its plate by leaning on the run and being a little more balanced. Yesterday, the guys at pff.com, Sam Munson came on and he said, you know, Aaron's a little more of the root problem than we ever want to admit Aaron Rogers. They're lousy on third down. They're averaging five plays a drive. Devante Adams was targeted four times. You know, I've been tough on Aaron. I think he's gifted.

But, you know, the PFF guys yesterday said it, and I'll ask you, generally talent, you know, It doesn't matter if you're a singer, an actor, a quarterback. We just love talent. And have we sometimes overlooked, Greg Coselle has said, Aaron ad-libs out of a lot of well-designed plays. Any of these offensive issues right now, Aaron's? Yeah, you can put some of it on Aaron. I think it even speaks to a bigger issue.

One, you're right about Aaron Rogers being extremely talented. And sometimes when you're talented, you have a tendency to skip steps and you will put more on yourself to make plays. It's part of the issue that he had with Mike McCarthy. Everyone has blamed Mike McCarthy for the offense, but sometimes it's hard to call a game when your quarterback prefers to play off the script as opposed to following what the script says.

It's just hard to build an offense around that. Secondly, the issue that we're hearing now, that we're having now with Green Bay, Green Bay, to me, is beginning to play the right way. They're beginning to play championship football. Championship football, when you look at the Patriots and teams that win, they have the ability to play great defense. they have the ability to control the clock when they need to so they can run the ball.

And then the quarterback makes plays when plays are there to be made. Two to three times a game, I need you to be great. Yes. But the teams that win over a long sustained period, they don't put it all on the quarterback all the time. Now, the quarterback position is one that is driven by ego more times than not. Quarterbacks want to thaw it all over the yard. They want to throw it 40 times a game. And it's not always the right play.

The Packers have never played better defense than the way. way that we've seen in the last decade. They're winning games and they're doing it because the defense is driving it. But yet we're hearing Aaron Rogers complain about the offense. It is uncomfortable for a talented player to let the other parts of the team kind of carry it. He has to get used to this being a team that is running the ball, playing defense, and only asking him to make a couple plays again. Yeah, it is hard because he's, listen, I don't know Aaron, but Mahomes is setting the world on fire

and Brady keeps winning. And Aaron's sitting here thinking, well, yeah. I'm all running game and defense. Listen, the true story. And I've never met Peyton Manning. I love to. I have great admiration for the family. But it's well known that when Peyton Manning was in his prime,

if the Colts ever drafted a quarterback, even if it was six round, Peyton's like, who's that? He called Bill Pauline, who he draft. Philip Rivers. I mean, the position my nature is very. Howie Long says you can't have two legendary quarterbacks in the same room. There's not enough oxygen. No.

Because it's one of those positions. 21 other positions, everyone has to compete for their spot. The quarterback is the only one. We're like, hey, we can't bring him in. We make him uncomfortable. We don't want to compete for the job because he has to be comfortable. That's so true. It's the same thing.

And I think what you're finding out with Aaron Rogers and some other great quarterbacks, Tom Brady, Drew Brees are a little bit of deception. They're okay playing a different way. Tom Brady's okay playing with the running game and the defense kind of carrying the load. And normally, as you get older, that's how the quarterback has to play. You don't ask him to do more. You ask them to do less. Okay, I got to tell you, Daniel Jones, Joy and I watched him.

I came in Monday, I'm like, that was juice. That was fun. Yeah. He ad-libbed, he moved around. When he ran to the corner on that kind of zone read thing, he outran a corner. Yeah. Who had a little bit of an angle. And I'm like, he may look and sound like Eli.

He don't move like Eli. No, he doesn't. And look, here's the thing. And here's what I can respect about the Giants throughout this whole process. One of the things that you must have as a scout is you must have conviction. If you feel strongly about a player, you have to be willing to stand on the table. and say this player would be a franchise player for us. And that's what David Gettleman said.

That's what Pat Schumer said. Now, if we go back and we really reevaluate how we went through the draft process, and we really looked at him at Duke, how many big-time players did he play with at Duke? He didn't play with many. And then if you go back and you talk to the people around the program, David Click-Cliff, A-1 competitor, great student, does the right things, two-time captain as a former walk-on,

speaks volumes about who you. Who he is and what he's been able to do. When Russell Wilson arrived in Wisconsin, they had all these seniors, and they voted Russell Wilson in two weeks, Captain. It's like, that's telling you everything. Leadership ability, the intangibles. Then when you go and you look at him, athletically at Duke, he's running his own read.

He's moving around making plays. He gives Pat Shermer the opportunity to do some of the new school stuff that we're seeing in the league. Because every coach wants, man, I see Lamar Jay. I have plays in my playbook that can do it. Daniel Jones has now allowed Pat Shermer to open up the playbook to do more stuff. And even though they don't have OBJ and some of the weapons that probably could elevate Daniel Jones, it still works because he is athletic and he is a winner.

Who do you like tonight, by the way? Oh, I'm going to go with Green Bay. I think their defense is really playing at a top level. And I talked to somebody about Mike Patton and the defense and why is it working now? And they said Mike Patton got away from doing too much stuff, too much exotic stuff. They're now doing more simulated pressures, four-man pressures, max coverage, eyes on the quarterback. They're getting turnovers. And look, those guys that they brought over, Brian Guticus and those guys did a great job of identifying pass rushers.

Preston Smith, Zedary Smith. I love Preston Smith. I love Preston Smith. By the way, I got to ask you. So Ron Wolf's a legendary GM. He found Brett Farv, right? And you were a scout. And listen, it's inexact, right?

Like, okay? Yes. Tell me, was there, give me a player that you loved. and that you went into a room with the Seahawks or the Panthers, and you sold him, and you got maybe it's Pete Carroll, it's Ron Rivera. They're like, Bucky, I don't know. Who did you go to the well for, and it paid?

And it was a good player. Brandon Browner. Oh, Corner. Brandon Browner from Oregon State. I put a big grade on Brandon Brown. I may have put the top of the second round, bottom of the first round grade on him. He had been packed 10, I think at the time, packed in defensive freshman of the year.

And he had played at a high level. Now, the issue with Brandon Browner is when you would put him up and you would watch his picture from the combine. He's tall, but he's a little knock need. He didn't run particularly fast. And he had a lot of holding penalties in the fact 10. However, you like the fact that he was competitive. He could put his hands on you. He could press and redirect.

He's a tough guy. Tough guy. So he goes undrafted. He goes to the CFL. He does what he did in the fact 12. Dominates, locks it up. Comes down to Seattle. Seattle puts him in a system that plays to his strengths.

He plays well. Brandon Browner was the guy that I felt strongly about, but I had a tough time convincing other people to see the vision that I had for how he could play in the league. So you had them like a top second round pick? Oh, I loved him at Oregon State. I loved the way he just mauled and matched people. And then Pico, Bucky, have you slept enough lately?

No, no, no. So I was at Carolina time. So John Fox and those guys. And it's funny because when you have guys up there, I may have been the outlaw because they had the high grade. And you're having the argument like, yeah, coach, but he can press, he can do this. But then he runs at a 4-7.

And everybody's like, Bucky, go back to... So they're like, hey, you may have had a bad day. And so it's one of those things, but he was a guy that I feel really, really strongly about. Well, congratulations.

Bucky Brooks, good stuff. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Melvin Gordon has finally ended his holdout and rejoined the Chargers today. He will not be available to play this weekend

against the Dolphins, but he showed up at practice this morning, and Keenan Allen was very excited. when he entered the room. Hold on, y'all. Oh, that shit came back with his shoulder pads and helped. Well, Keenan Allen's excited to have him back. Who was that, by the way?

Keenan Allen. Which is nice. You know, he's very well liked. It was never about that. It was just they couldn't get the money, right? And he lost nearly $1 million worth of base salary in the first three games, and he's still subject to up to $1.2 million in fines. And by the way, now the chargers probably have the deepest running back core in the league.

Right. So they went from good. So they had enough people to play without him. But now that's a unit of total strength for them. Right. And while they had great backups in Austin Echler and Justin Jackson, Melvin Gordon is different. And he takes everything up and elevates their offense, which they need.

There's a reason why he was holding out. Now, circumstances prevented him from making the money that he wanted to make. He's going to make the remaining $4.6 million of his salary, be a free agent in 2020. I'm all four guys making as much money as possible, and I don't have a problem with people holding out in order to make that happen. It just always felt like this was not one of those situations

that was going to work out well for Melvin Gordon, and clearly it didn't. In any business, if you went in to ask for a raise, you have to consider, if I leave, who's my backup? And if your backup's really talented, that's going to take away a little leverage. Does your company like to pay people? Jerry Jones loves stars.

The Spanos has had been frugal with stars. So I don't think he lined up all because there was a lot of things that just nibbled at his leverage. Didn't eliminate it, but nibbled at it. But if you're going to hold out, you have to have a lot of leverage. It's one thing to renegotiate your contract. If you're going to hold out, you've got to know this is going to be worth my time and I'm going to make the money that I need to make. So Tom Brady was limited in practice again yesterday. He is dealing with a lingering calf issue.

He's fully planning to play on Sunday. He just likes to give his body a little extra rest these days. Football is a, you know, it's a contact sport, so I wouldn't say I'm a spring chicken anymore. So I'm trying to just, you know, feel as great as I can. Let's see how close tomorrow. I feel pretty good. I feel pretty good. I think that's the first time I ever heard Brady refer to himself as...

Well, this has always been my thing with Brady. Like, he's so competitive, Joy, he won't take a playoff at practice. and I think this is why they brought in Cody Kessler because they brought in the Cody Kessler yesterday. It's not for game. They just like Tom, we're going to have you do a practice on Wednesday, light Thursday.

And that's what the Rams have basically did with like Whitworth, the old tackle. Like no pads, come in practice hard Wednesday, light Thursday, and that's it, and just give Tom another day to not have to grind.

Which is not like he needs to remember how to play football. It's all mental for him at this point anyway. He knows his body. He's going to be. be prepared and ready to go. I think it's time. I think it's actually with him now. It's timing on routes with all these moving parts. Right. Well, that's probably the only thing that he is concerned about because he doesn't have those pieces that he is used to relying on in the receiving core. Finally, Clemson is looking to repeat his national champions and head coach Davos when he is

very confident that his team can do it. He said he fills out a calendar for his team every summer and plans to win it all. He said, it says we're planning to win. Already got the parade on there and everything. It's what we do. We've always done it that way. Clemson has won 19 straight games going back to last year's undefeated season, and they have no more ranked opponents on their regular season schedule. See, this is where Clemson gets a break. I mean, Alabama's got to play Auburn and Georgia and LSU. So LSU is way better than I thought they would be.

And so this is where the people that say, and this is nothing against Clemson because when they played Alabama, but do I think it helps Clemson to not have to play LSU, Georgia, and Auburn? Of course, yes. To have no more ranked components on their schedule for the rest of the season is remarkable. And Clemson can hide things. And I think that's a big deal. Like, I mean, you're Alabama playing Auburn, LSU and Georgia.

You are empty in the playbook. You got to, you have to be close games. So Clemson's going to go into the championship. Yeah, they can play a basic offense all the way through. And they can rest players and they can play. That's a, you know, when USC was dominating college football, I always say, Pack 10 was a mess. And they were winning these games at halftime.

And it's just a huge advantage that knowing by week nine, you can bury some things. Do you have a problem with him already having the parade on the calendar? I would prefer not, but he's funny. And I think he and I have a chance to get, I think someday we'll meet and like each other a lot, even though initially he doesn't. Yeah, even after he said this. You know, the guy that called us a fraud, ask Alabama if we're a fraud. Was his name Colin Coward? Very painful.

Ask you, I don't have, never met him, don't know him. Ask him if we're Alabama for a fraud. Ask Ohio State if we're a fraud. Ask Oklahoma if we're a fraud. The only fraud is that guy. Because he didn't do his homework. I hope y'all print that. Listen, I did my homework.

I watched you in September, October that year, and you didn't look very good. You were going to overtime with like NC State. Well, he disagrees. That's funny. He does seem like he'd be fun to hang out with. I think he'd come around to you if he came on the show. A lot of people don't like me initially.

But then you meet me and you're like, oh, he's warm and fuzzy and likes dogs and drinks beer and he's regular. I give off a bad vibe sometimes on the air, but enjoy it with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. By the way, I saw this. I got my marquee three picks in a second. You know, was Nick Wright the one yelling today that Mahomes is going to break every record because Nick's from Kansas City and he's talking about, listen, I got nothing against Patrick Mahomes.

He's super good. I'm so glad now that nobody talks records. LeBron's going to shatter Michael Jordan in every record. Mike's the goat. Matt Ryan and Vinnie Testaverdi have more passing touchdowns than Joe Montana. Joe Montana 17th. But Joe was the goat until Tom Brady won his like sixth. Major League Baseball, I mean, we used to care about records until everybody took cattle steroids.

And now we kind of roll our eyes at records. You got to remember, analytics are changing sports. And so analytics are good for the home run hitter. They're good for the quarterback. They're good for the shooter. So almost every record is going to be shattered. And by the way, here's the reality. You want to know the number and the stat that matters for quarterbacks.

I'll tell you the number and stat. How many years do you play? If you go to the stats right now of the all-time leaders in the NFL quarterbacks on like touchdowns and pack, you know what the key is? Longevity. If you play 15 years and you're pretty good for 15 years. years. You end up being a top eight quarterback statistically of all time. That's

the key for Mahomes. Winning Super Bowls and playing 14 years. Because if he plays eight, he's not going to be anywhere near it. So we're all caught up on stats and numbers in this stuff. The stat that matters, the number that matters is how long's Mahomes going to play? And if you told me 14 years,

then I'm impressed, then I'm getting Super Bowls. That's why it means Andrew Luck. In the end, he's going to be nowhere in the record books. Andrew Luck's to be the best talent since Elway, nowhere in the books. His careers have as long as everybody else's. Coming up, my college football picks of the weekend,

and I absolutely think they're my strongest pick so far. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Great to have everybody in. Every Thursday at this time. We do our college football bets. I take three games, Fox Bet, Markey, three games. I try to do games that I think we can all watch together.

In the NFL, I don't care. I just pick the five best games that have the best numbers. In college, I like to pick games we're all going to watch. I'm not going to bet on Northeast Louisiana. And TV games, it makes it a little bit harder, but we do our homework and we like these picks. All our odds are provided by Fox Bet, so it's our marquee three, and here we go. Ready to make some sweet cash? Colin's going to give you his three sure bets for the college football weekend.

It's time for the Fox Bet Marquis 3. Virginia at Notre Dame. Virginia is getting 12 and a half points. That is a lot of points. This is a good Virginia team that is tied for the most Saxon college football. I think the score will come down. You got to remember, Notre Dame played an incredibly physical game last week and a highly emotional game at Georgia.

It's the biggest game in Georgia. football in a long time. It was so physical. Brian Kelly said watching it on the sidelines, you could hear that game like no other. I think Notre Dame's banged up. It's a highly emotional game. Virginia was awful last week as they were looking ahead, so they looked like garbage against Old Dominion. Notre Dame tends to be a good team after a loss, but not as dominant. I think Virginia covers. Notre Dame wins. They pull back emotionally. It's 30-20, but I'm going to take Virginia and the points here. Their biggest game in a long time. Northwestern at Wisconsin. Northwestern's hard to figure out. Okay, they are bizarrely good on the

road. They're eight and oh in their last eight road conference games. They're also bizarrely good as a double-digit underdog. In the last 18 games, they've been a double-digit underdog. They've won 10 of them straight up. Northwestern, 15 and 2 in their last. 17 conference games, one of the best coach teams. Now, Wisconsin's better. There is no question. And because Wisconsin was on national TV and drubbed Jim Harbaugh, I think they're overvalued. I like them. I think if you slow down Jonathan Taylor, the running back, you slow down the offense. Again, I'm taking a team that got a four turnover benefit against Michigan, one on national TV, and everybody in the world now has Wisconsin in the playoffs. Wisconsin's going to be down two starters in the secondary.

They win the game 36 to 16, but I'm taking the 24 and a half points with Northwestern. USC at Washington. I'm going to take the favorite Washington here, favored by 10. I think they win by more than that. USC is clinging the life. They're a mess. Don't overvalue the Utah win. Utah is Utah.

Washington is better defensively, better at quarterback, better coach, and an overall better roster. USC's a bad road team. Two and five since the start of last year. They can't hold on to the football. Last in turnovers in the Pack 12. Last in turnover differential, so they don't take it away. It's a coaching mismatch.

Clay Hilton, with all that talent, last 16 games, 8 and 8. Washington doesn't lose at home much with Doug Peterson. 16 and 1 in their last 17. Washington does one thing well. They are absolutely brilliantly coached on defense. They're number two in the conference. And the other thing is Jacob Eason, if you haven't seen him play for Washington, is going to end up going in the draft.

He may go number one or two. Spectacular quarterback mismatch here. Washington wins it. USC is a big playoffense. They'll score some points downfield, but I'll take the Huskies to win by more than 10, 34 to 23. So Virginia is going to lose at Notre Dame, but take the points. Notre Dame pulls back a little off that highly physical, emotional win over Georgia.

Northwestern loses to Wisconsin, but I think Wisconsin's a tad overvalued after winning on national TV. I think they pull back a little bit emotionally. And I think USC is not well coached, can't hang on to the football. We're overvaluing them on a home win at the Coliseum over Utah and Washington. By the way, USC lost to BYU. Washington went to Provo and destroyed them. Just a better coach team and a better football program right now. There you go.

All odds provided by a Fox bet. By the way, the USC game is the Discover card key matchup. Go further than ever with a Discover at Miles Carr. Limitations apply. Discover match for new card members only. Learn more at Discover.com slash travel. It is great to have you. And, of course, tonight really is a spectacular NFL.

game. It's a two dogs on the couch, give big sandwich Corona night. Philadelphia Eagles who are one and two, but really two plays from being undefeated. They had two drop passes so far this year out of the arms of Carson Wentz. One dropped by a Stanford rookie receiver for Philadelphia, the other by Nelson Aguilar, up the left sideline. So I think Philadelphia is one of those teams where numbers sometimes, if not lie, can be deceiving. I think Philadelphia is better than their record. they have not run the ball very well. They'll have to tonight.

And Green Bay is 3 and 0. They're not quite as good as their record. Offensively, they have been awful on third down. They have had, they average five plays a drive. That's with Aaron Rogers. That's with Devante Adams. That's with Aaron Jones. That's with Matt LaFleur.

And that's with the top 10 to 12 offensive line. So some of that is getting in system, you know, getting in sync. But I don't think, I don't think Green Bay is, nearly where they want to be offensively, and I don't think they will be tonight. I think Green Bay at home, it's the first time they faced a real offense. Carson Wentz, Jason Peters at left tackle,

Alshon, Jeffrey's back, Erts, the tight end. And I think Doug Peterson's an excellent offensive coach. They have struggled to run the football. And I also think the secondary is kind of not a strength for Philadelphia, but it's good enough. So I think you have a very close 27, 26 football game. Goes either way,

but I would take Philadelphia plus the four points. Again, that's Fox Betta if you're looking for the odds. What's exciting tonight, you know, it's funny. It's funny about the narratives. When Thursday football came out, and it's just the way Twitter, Twitter was like absurd, like three years ago, Twitter, you think it's caustic now and Wokey now. Two years ago, we were on this thing.

Football Thursday is awful for the NFL. It's terrible for the players. And then players are like, well, actually, we don't hit on Thursday games, and we get like nine days off after it. And some of the veterans said, listen, you got to be honest with you. I like the break after Thursday football. and we're always facing teams we face anyway, so it's not that bad.

Everybody was anti-Thursday football two years ago when Twitter was just ridiculous. You couldn't have a reasonable opinion. And now everybody's come to terms with these Thursday games are actually, now it's probably not great if you're a 15-year linebacker. You know, like Thursday. Majority of this league is young. The old players are generally kickers and quarterbacks.

So the reality is you come in, you basically, what teams do in the NFL on Thursday games, they've done the film work before the season. So they've already put in the offense. So by the time you get to a Thursday game, it's really an easy week of practice, not a lot of pads. The NFL does a very good job to make him as regional as they can

so you don't go more than like one time zone. They don't want to force Philly to go all the way to San Francisco. So they try to make these no more than one time zone gains, a two-hour flight. And then after you play it, Philadelphia get a ton of rest and they get to play the Jets at home. So I, now, and by the way, I think Thursday games end like the 14th week of the year,

so they don't do it all the way down the stretch. But I think Thursday games are fun. Now, selfishly, they're great for us. I don't like 18 games. I don't want more games, but I have no problem having a handful of Thursday games. In fact, I think you just work the schedule. You try to find a couple of teams with buys, and then you make it work. So I think tonight will be well played.

It'll take Philadelphia very, very close. It's on Fox tomorrow, Blazing 5, plus Greg Jennings for everybody here. Speak for yourself is coming up next. 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 SportsSlice 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 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 Sports Slice on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more,

follow Timbo Slic 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. Dude. Hey, my mama want you to weigh better.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Joey Dardano. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Syke, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice.

Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, and recommend some. of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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