The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Saints, & Marquee 3

Episode Date: October 24, 2019

Colin explains why the Chiefs need to play Patrick Mahomes against the Packers, why he feels Baker Mayfield needs to keep his mouth shut, why the Saints should trade Teddy Bridgewater, and his new Marquee 3 college picks for the weekend. Guests include Greg Cosell, Solomon Wilcots, Metta World Peace, and Brady Poppinga. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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

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

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

Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching herd. Fox Sports Radio. Oh, packed Thursday. This is The Herd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. It is hot. It is steamy in Los Angeles right now. Very, very, very warm. Unseasonably warm, right? Yeah, it's kind of crazy.

Like 90 degrees? It's uncomfortable because, you know, It's not supposed to be this warm, and then it's also really warm. It's crazy. I guess we could have hail and snow, so we shouldn't complain. No, I'm not complaining. It's just, you know, makes you wonder. So I'm Joy Taylor, of course, the voice of Joy Taylor.

One hour from now, Greg Co. Seller, NFL Meat Sandwich. You know how I love that? I geek out. I nerd out on that. So I'm driving to work this morning, and as I always do when I drive to work, I listen to about six different radio shows. I don't care about the takes. I care about what the topics are.

And, like, what's the nation, talking about, what are fans talking about? And I heard a couple of different shows saying, Patrick Mahomes is hurt. He cannot rush back. He can be very, very careful about rushing back. Patrick Mahomes, if he can, needs to play against Green Bay. Would you, let me ask you this. Would you rather have healthy players sitting out games because of load management or injured

players fighting to get on the field? Which would you prefer? And one of the reasons I like the NFL more than the NBA, and I do love the NBA. I watch two games last night, but I like the NFL more is the urgency and the scarcity and the scarcity of games and games matter and guys play hurt and guys are fighting to get on the field like the rest of us in America. You work with a hangover. You work with a cold. You'll work when you're sick. You've got to pay the bills.

It's very relatable. I like Jimmy Butler, NBA player. He sat out to season opener last night for personal reasons. That's probably fine in the NBA. I mean, maybe he had something at home. But I've never even heard of an NFL players sitting out for personal reasons. I've never even heard of it. So it's a different sport.

And I love this about the NFL. Folks, we're only halfway through the season. Kansas City needs to get the number two seat. They're not going to get the number one seat. New England's going to get the number one seat. They've got to get the number two seat. They've got to play a playoff game at home. They've got to win their division.

And Andy Reid is unbelievable off a buy. We know that. I think he's the best record in the NFL. This is a team that's got some older players. players that have had injuries, they would need to win their division, get a buy. That makes it easier when you do play New England. Now, I think the NFC is better than the AFC, but don't kid yourself. Buffalo has the second best defense in the NFL.

You want to go play at Buffalo? Indianapolis could win their division and have a better record. You want to play Indianapolis? You just lost them at home. They have the best offensive line, certainly the best young offensive line in the NFL. Houston, you want to go to two. Houston, Deshawn Watson. I mean, the kid's magic.

Their defense up front's very good. You start looking around Baltimore. You want to play in Baltimore? Really, you want to go play the best number one points per game offense, the running offense. I mean, seriously, you already beat them and now they're better. Forget New England. You're not going to get a home game

against New England, but you've got to get home. You've got to win this game. You've got to win games. You've got to play. hurt. The other thing is, Mahomes has not been great in these big showdown games in terms of winning. He lost the Goff, remember on the big Monday night football game? He's lost to Russell Wilson on a Sunday night football game.

He lost to Sean Watson this year in a big showdown game. He lost to Tom Brady in a playoff game. He lost a Tom Brady in a Sunday night football game. So, I mean, in these big showdown games, he wants to face Aaron Rogers. He wants to go and face Aaron Rogers. It's good for him. It's good for the team. It's good for his brand.

And they have a chance to win the game. I mean, Green Bay's defense is good. It's not that good. It's not Buffalo good. It's not New England good. Kansas City can win that football game. We have an NFL where Drew Brees is fighting to get back on the field and his team's yet to lose without him. He's fighting to get back on the field against Arizona when the Saints were favored by 10 against them and they have a buy after it.

There's never been a game that was easier to sit out for Drew Brees. He's fighting to get back on the field. last year to Sean Watson had to take a bus to a game. He couldn't fly. It was a 10-hour bus ride because he was injured. Like the bar has been set in the NFL. There's no load management in the NFL. There's too few games, too much scarcity, too much urgency, too much urgency.

You got to play. And Chris Carter talked about it this morning, the Hall of Famer. This is what this league is all about. The reason why the league is what it is. In this brutal sport, guys have played through being injured and chance in their career. That's what the league is made on. Just as you were shocked that he was at practice yesterday,

I'll be shocked if he's not under center on Sunday, especially after participating in a Wednesday practice that you don't have to. He should play, he will play, and they have a chance if he plays to win, and Kansas City needs to win. Let me shift gears to Baker Mayfield. I was not going to criticize Baker Mayfield this week. I think they'll be okay against New England.

Won't win. It'll be close. Baker Mayfield, this story is now like two weeks old, right? Like he shouldn't be talking about a game that was weeks old. He should be talking about New England. That's where his focus should be, right? That's what New England does. What's the old famous saying, Bill Belichick, on to Cincinnati?

New England on a short week could be a little vulnerable. The Cleveland on a buy has a chance here to make it interesting at New England. That's what Baker should be talking about. Anything else, guys, it's on to New England. That's what the smart quarterbacks do. Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck when he played. Deshawn Watson. Yeah.

We're talking about the next game. Here's Baker Mayfield, still complaining this week about the officials, you know, 10 days ago. One, I wouldn't say it's complaining when it was blatantly obvious. I'd say that's just stating facts. Freedom of speech. I thought, you know, it's okay. But I get fine for it. It's the league.

That's what they do. to find you for some ridiculous things. It's just how it is. But there's a reason everybody's talking about it. I knew I was going to get fined, but it needs to be said. People have to be held accountable for their job. When it affects my job, it sucks because it's not in my control. Time out.

People need to be held accountable. You goof. You lead the NFL on interceptions. You're somebody that needs to be held accountable. Cleveland's got an excellent roster. star receivers, star running back, star pass rusher, great corners, a rookie head coach who needs your support, held accountable. Who are you kidding?

You weren't terrible against Seattle. You lost the game. You need to be held accountable. And nobody's talking about it. Players, star quarterbacks in this league aren't banging on the refs. They've moved on. You're talking about it. Freedom of speech.

Do you understand what the First Amendment is? Did you go to class at Oklahoma? Freedom of speech protects us from our government, not from being fine from the National Football League, you goof? Held accountable. This is what I said. Johnny Mansell, James, Winston-Baker-Mayfield. All talented.

I said, I don't trust his judgment. I think he's got lousy judgment. Quarterbacks about judgment. Okay. NFL leader in interceptions, running from cops, throwing footballs at people in college. That's just judgment. That's just really terrible instincts.

Taunting the refs before New England. You understand refs are human? Do you understand, do you ever watch? You ever notice this before an NFL game? Have you ever noticed the veteran coaches go up to the refs, put their arm? Hey, good seeing you, Bob. Good seeing you, Jack. Jim, good, how's the family over there?

You ever notice that? You ever see Mike Shoshchevsky, John Calipari, Duke in Kentucky before big games, smiling. How are you doing? I haven't seen you since last year at Clemson because refs are human. You're playing a defense that is the best historically ever in their place. And you're taunting the refs. You should be sending the refs gifts. Watch coaches in college basketball.

They're sucking up to the refs before tip-off. Even Bobby Knight used to do that. He may yell at him during the game. he was sucking up before the game. Belichick. I've talked to NFL coaches. Hey, how you doing? How's Margaret?

How are the kids? Are they doing no way? That's what you do. They're human beings. You can call different things. I'm not saying refs are on the take, but they're human. You're taunting New England. You're taunting the refs.

What are you doing? This is what worried me about him. Nick Wright talked about this this morning. You're talking about people being held accountable. You got a rookie head coach. You got a super. super talented roster. You got a GM that rolled the dice on you. You have an owner that rolled the dice on you. You were a two-time walk-on. You had a police video. They rolled the dice on you. You were not the highest-rated quarterback on most boards. Cleveland took a chance with a two-time five, 11-and-a-half walk-on and runs a 4840. They're hoping they can depend on you. And you're talking about accountability, freedom of speech, and the refs two weeks ago. Nick Wright this morning on first things first.

Instead of trying to fight City Hall, try to fight the opposition by not giving them extra possessions. Baker's played six games this year. In zero of those games, has he thrown multiple touchdown passes. But in three of those games, he's had three turnovers. In all of those games, he's had at least one. He's got five touchdowns to 11 picks, and since he's taken over the team, he has 25 interceptions and 19 starts. That's disastrous. You know the other thing?

With young quarterbacks, I try not to crush them for, you know, their rookie years, you can't even count them. Like I always say first year, I don't even care about it. Like if they do something interesting, you're like, wow, every time Lamar Jackson and Dack Prescott talk, and Dack's still pretty young, have you noticed this? Whenever Lamar Jackson talks, whenever Dack Prescott talks, it's about teens. they blame themselves. I'm not good enough.

I mean, Lamar Jackson's like, I heard the critics, and I think a lot of what they said was right, so I put on weight. Lamar Jackson is blaming himself. Always. Baker's always blaming somebody else. Stop asking the refs to be held accountable. You need to be held accountable.

Your franchise and everybody in it rolled the dice to acquire a two-time walk-on with police video. They took a big chance on you. Stop talking. Start winning. Watch Lamar Jackson. Watch how he acts at a press conference.

Every press conference. Watch DAC. Every press conference. I was going to be nice this week. I wasn't even going to be critical. All right. Coming out next. The Chicago Bears, hear me out,

need to aggressively go get Teddy Bridgewater by Tuesday trade deadline. And the Saints need to aggressively trade Teddy Bridgewater. It'll all make sense coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

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

Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming.

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

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

Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. All right, here's a big story. I'm going to go crazy on this. Mike Freeman's an NFL reporter. He said NFL teams reportedly have high interest in trading for Cam Newton. I roll. I'll believe it when I see it.

He's old. He's distracted. He's beat up. And Carolina is winning without him. I don't think there's a big market for Cam Newton. In fact, what I think is funny is I think Teddy Bridgewater is sitting out there. And I would aggressively, if I was Chicago, go for Teddy Bridgewater. The perception is Cam Newton's way better than Teddy Bridgewater.

Passer rating, historically, Teddy's is better. Completion percentage, Teddy way better. Win percentage, Teddy way better. One guy's got a better arm. Doesn't mean he's better. Jay Cutler had a great arm. It doesn't mean he's better than 90% of the guys he felt. face. Big arm. Joe Flacco had a big arm for a long time. I'm Chicago. I aggressively trade for a guy

that just beat me last week. And I don't want to hear he's a system quarterback. This whole league, you know, outside of Aaron Rogers, is a system quarterback. Joe Montana was a system quarterback. Well, they can't throw the ball down field. When's the last time a team won the Super Bowl that was known for throwing the ball down the field? You win because of defense. You win because of long drives. you win because of coaching and sustainability and situational football, not throwing bombs down the field. Drew Breeze won a Super Bowl. Peyton Manning at the end of his career wasn't throwing the ball down the field.

Brady hasn't thrown the ball big down the field in seven years. Here's the thing. Number one, Drew Breeze hurt his hand on a fluke play. His hand hit a helmet. He's coming back this week or off the by. He didn't pull a hamstring. It's not a knee injury. It's not a back injury.

It's not a shoulder injury. Where he may get hurt again. It was a completely fluke injury. Bang, hand popped. Drew Breeze. Teddy B., your work's done here. It's over. Drew's going to start for the next two and a half years.

That's the first thing. So this was not like, you know, when Deshawn Watson comes off a surgery or that's not what this is. This is me literally missing a day of work because I walk out of the studio, bang my head on something, and I have a big black eye, I'm not going to do that more than like once in my career. That would be different than pulling an ACL playing tennis,

which I'll probably do here in a couple months. It was a fluke injury. Teddy your work's done. The second thing to think about here, and this is a real thing to think about. The three best NFL teams I've seen this year, San Francisco, New England, New Orleans. Well, San Francisco and New England at the trading deadline

just made a move to get better. What are you doing? He's going to sit there? You're going to, well, we're pretty good. Chicago cannot punt on this season. This defense is too good. This coach is too good. You can't punt on this season.

What's Chicago? Three in three? You can't punt on the season. I mean, Green Bay looks like they'll win the division, but the wild card is wide open. Rams, I'm not even counting the lions out. And they're two, three and one, I think. I'm not even counting them out yet.

Divisions, I think I know who's going to win the division, Green Bay. I think San Francisco is going to win their division. But you're in a dog fight, and we're halfway through the season. You're in a dog fight. Hell, Arizona's in it now. I don't think they'll last, but Seattle, Arizona, the Rams, Philadelphia, could be Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota. Can't punt the season with this team.

His team's too good. And Teddy Bridgewater is a grown-up. You don't need a superstar quarterback with this defense and this coach. You need somebody to move the chains, not turn the ball over. That is exactly what Teddy Bridgewater does. High IQ, coachable, moves the chains, gets first downs, keeps the defense off the field, get your field goals and a touchdown or two in a game. And you score 24 points.

With that defense, very few teams not named New England in this sport are beating you if you score 24 points. And here's the other thing to worry about, and I'll get into this later. This defense in Chicago is about ready to quit on this offense. These all-time great defenses, there's a reason they last for about a year. You know, we have like the, you know, the, was it, 85 bears and the 2002 Buccaneers and the 2000 Ravens. You ever notice they're all like one year, Saxonville? Because the Jags defense eventually quit on Blake Bortles. They're like, we're over.

We can't just literally be on the field all game. Those defenses continue to be good, but they're never as great. When you have a Bears defense like this, I watched that Saints game at the end of it. I think the Bears defense, you were seeing, it looked like a little bit of resentment. Like, we're over this. These defenses don't last forever. Okay, the defensive coordinators go. You'll lose a top free agent or two.

We're already seeing that with Chicago. Lost a defensive coordinator, lost a couple of free agents. You have an injury or two, and suddenly it's a good defense. It's not a great defense. trading deadline is Tuesday. Saints make a move. By the way, if you don't make a move, then Teddy's just a backup

who in the off season is going to go get paid somewhere, and you're going to get nothing for him. So get something for him. Go look at your roster and say, okay, we're like this, this, this, this. Could we get a player? I mean, I'd go and try to get a player over a pick. If I could get a good player on New Orleans right now,

I'd take that over a pick. Chicago may have an extra back, an extra lineback. Are they draft a lot? Maybe an extra corn. or whatever it is. But if I'm Chicago, I aggressively go for Teddy Bridgewater, not Cam Newton, and if I'm New Orleans, if I see any weakness on my...

Aren't Sean Payton and Drew Brees? You guys are in it now to win Super Bowls. Mickey Loomis, the G. You guys aren't in it to win their division. Some of these teams in this league are in it to win their division. The Saints are in it to win Super Bowls now. You are not... Look at San Francisco's roster.

Okay, we're going to be playing now. You're New Orleans this morning. Think maybe you could use another offensive lineman? You don't think you can. use a little offensive help? Because you're not going to throw the ball down the field with Drew Brees. Look at San Francisco and Green Bay. That's who you got to get through.

Don't think you're going to use an extra player or you want to keep your backup quarterback. Enjoy with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. The Nationals took a commanding 2-0 series lead in the World Series last night with the 12-3 routes over the Astros. Greg, we apologize for this story, Greg. very, very sorry about this.

I'm officially freaking out. Yeah. Well, that's fair. Both teams scored two runs in the first inning, but Washington broke it open in the seventh inning. Kurt Suzuki hit a home runs to knock Justin Verlander out of the game, and the nationals finished the inning with six total runs. Verlander took the loss and fell to 0 and 5 in his six World Series starts.

First of all, nobody scores six on the Astros in an inning. Like, Washington is just hitting. And it's so funny, we thought this entire. World Series was going to be two to one. Yeah, you thought this was going to be very low-low. Oh, I thought the whole series was going to be two to one baseball games. It's just so incredible. Washington is just

pouring. Yes, they're rolling right now. Now, the series moves to D.C. for the city's first World Series game since 1933. So that should be a very tame environment. Oh, my God. For the Astros. Oh, my Lord. Coverage begins for game three tomorrow at 7.30 Eastern on Fox. And only three

of the last 25 teams to fall 0-2 at home under the 2-3-2 series format have come back to win the World Series. The last to do it was the 1996 Yankees over the Brave. So only three teams. As I have aged, they don't like flying. I would have paid to be on that Nationals flight last night. How much fun do you think that was? Flying home, go to Houston, won both games.

I mean, they've got to be feeling good. I just, I always wonder, because you're right, like baseball, they celebrate after a win. Like football, I feel like in the playoffs. Everybody's exhausted. They celebrate, but it's kind of like, all right. Like, now, like, let's celebrate a little bit, but let's not get too crazy because we've got another playoff game to win, like, very, very short memory. But I wonder because if baseball, how they temper, like, the excitement of it. You get on that plane.

You know what? I bet the nationals were like, I bet they were actually cautious because Houston is so good. Right. And every time you think you have them down, I'm just shocked at the offense by the nationals. Did anybody predict this? If you go to look to the first three games, the weakest starter was 14 and 7 with a 2-5-E-R-A. Yeah, I mean, the Astros are very heavily favored going into the series. The game three pitchers are Zach Rankie and Annabal Sanchez, and coverage begins tomorrow at 730 Eastern on Fox for game three.

Wow. So Pelicans GM, David Griffin, is no stranger to dealing with media attention surrounding NBA superstars. He was the GM of the Cavas when LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love were together, and he plans on using that experience in Cleveland to handle at Zion Williamson's star in the NBA. He said having been a part of a team with a phenomenon like LeBron, Kyrie, and Kevin Love, it's certainly a learning experience that I hope we can utilize. The mistakes we made then, I hope we don't make now. We didn't ignore the noise well as a team, but now we can be in front of a lot of things.

The Pelicans have 30 national TV games this year. I do think that it's, I mean, it's obviously different. Like comparing the hype, the media hype surrounding LeBron and Zion is it's two different worlds. I think Zion's more hyped. crazy? Then LeBron coming in the league? Well, the summer league was not a thing when LeBron. I don't even know if it was televised. So the Zion, first of all, LeBron didn't play college, so I had high school. I remember his first game was in Sacramento. I had to get, I didn't see it live. I had to watch highlights. Zion played at Duke. That's huge. Then he had the exploding

shoe. So there was controversy. Then he played in the summer league and it broke all records. LeBron went from high school to playing a game in Sacramento. And I don't think the internet was big. No, but I do think that with LeBron, he was kind of anointed coming into the league. He was. The chosen one. And I don't think maybe the I mean, you can't compare the media

then to now, the social media then to now, the internet then to now. But I don't think that the expectations are as high of Zion Williamson. Yes, that's fair. The height may be more but I think that everyone is kind of, even fans too, I know I certainly am not putting this projection

on Zion Williamson's career. I think he's fun to watch, but I don't want to, I don't expect him to be the next LeBron James. I don't really like putting the next on anything. I don't think Zion's game is anything like LeBron James. And the idea that he has to carry the league into the future is a little silly. Now, like there's a lot of superstars now that can pick up that man. I mean, Kevin Durant is going to be back next year. Like, it's not all on him.

But I do think it is, they do have an asset in David Griffin being there because he does have the experience of dealing with that level of media attention. so he can see those, you know, those lines ahead of them to avoid and, you know, keep things under control there in New Orleans. Finally, some interesting news. Connor McGregor will be making his return to the Octagon in 2020. Remember him? Yes. Who's he going to fight?

Well, he announced that his next UFC fight will be January 18th at Team Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Okay. He didn't name his opponents, but sources are saying that Cowboy Soroni is the frontrunner now to face McGregor. Cowboy Soroni? Yes. And he plans on fight. two more times next year. So he wants to fight, fight three times on January 18th.

And he hopes for a rematch with Nate Diaz. That's Massvedal versus Diaz. So the winner of that, he's assuming is Nate Diaz, and he'll fight them. And then Habib, Ferguson, he wants to rematch with Habib, but Habib was fighting Ferguson. So obviously, his last fight was October 2018. He was submitted in the fourth round.

And then that awful fight broke out in the Octagon, which led over into the stands, and both fighters were suspended. So kind of interesting, that's not too far away. It's only a few months, but it just feels like he just kind of just went off into the abyss there for a little bit. You know what I think it is? There's a new business over at that place where UFC's broadcast, the SPN Plus, they need content. They got to sell subscriptions, and he can, he sells them.

He does. He's a rock star. Well, this first fight will be a very big deal, January 18th, like everyone's going to be watching because we haven't seen him. for a long time. If the fight doesn't go well, I mean, you remember how this went for Ronda Rousey?

It was not quite the return and it just kind of felt like, okay, I could have been left with how that last fight ended. So how he comes back is important because we haven't seen or really heard anything

from him other than his whiskey for quite some time. Who's cowboy? Calboy Soroni. Baloney. What is his name? Cowboy-Wri-W-Wat. Cowboy-Sorone.

Who is that? I'm not going to Who's Cowboys Soroni? I'm up on Soroni's career. He's a UFC fighter, yes. Greg, who's Cowboys Scorone? Soroni. Soroni.

What? His name is Donald? Donald Cowboy Sclerone. That's a good name. It's a good fighter name. Seroni? Yeah. He's a very good fighter.

He's a cowboy. And it rhymes with Bologna. And he very well might beat Connor McGregor. All right, there you go. Joy with it, News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping. dropping by the herd line news well kairie irving scored 50 points last night uh this is why he left

lebron why he left the celtics he wanted to be the man and he was and he lost to the minnesota timber wolves at home congratulations this is what you wanted took one game you got the most shots you got the most points you got the last shot congratulations you the man The Nets starting five in Brooklyn is Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, Lavert, what's that kid's name? Karis Lavert, Tayshan, Prince, Jared Allen, who had six points. So Tiny Brittle Kyrie Irving. Yeah, Tori and Prince, my bad on that.

I haven't watched a lot of their games last couple years. That's the starting five. Okay, so Tiny Brittle, Kyrie Irving can't do a load management here. You get that right. He's got to play like, you know, 78 games, and he's got to play 38 minutes. Tiny brittle, Kyrie Irving. The NBA has got a weird thing going on. A, load management.

Stars want nights off. And B, yet they want to be the man. Well, if you're going to be the man and you go to a team with a bunch of B minus players, you can't take a lot of nights off. But Colin, when Kevin Durant comes back, you still won't be able to take nights off. Have you seen the Brooklyn roster? If Kyrene next year takes nights off and Kevin Durant's playing with Joe Harris, Jared Allen, you think that's a 60-win team? No, it is not.

It is a non-playoff team in the West, and it's a seven or an eight seed in the East. You want to be the man, but you want load management. This is a thing in the NBA I don't get. that only works with one player, Kauai Leonard. Why? Because right now he's the best player. And Kauai was smart enough to look around the league and go,

I want to go to a really, really, really deep team, i.e. like Toronto, where I can come in and then I'll bring another star so I can take 15 days off. Load management works when your roster looked like Toronto last year or the clippers this year. But on teams like that,

you're not going to be the man. You're going to get a lot of shots, but Kauai Leonard was smart. He's like, they won 48 games without me. Their young players are getting better. I'm going to come in and they're going to win 58. And I'm also going to bring a player just like me. So when I'm off, we'll still win and have a number one seat.

So load management, which I'm not a fan of. But for Kauai Leonard, it works. Kauai wasn't about being the man. Kauai was about winning. Kauai could have gone anywhere. He went to the Clippers because they won 48 without him. And he wouldn't even go to the Clippers with Doc Rivers and that great deep bench unless he said, Paul George has to come with me.

I'm not coming there by myself. We know if Kauai went there just by himself, they would have been a top four team for the title. So Kauai was not about being the man. If he wanted to be the man, he could have gone to that deep clipper roster and they would have won 58 games and been an absolute top four team for the championship. Not saying they'd win, but I'd take them over Milwaukee.

I'd take them over Boston. I'd take them over Houston. I'd take them over Utah. I don't know if I'd take them over the Lakers. We'll see how that works out. But if you want to be the man in a load management era, then you better join a better roster. Because this load management thing doesn't work for Houston.

If James Hardin wants to take nights off, it's not the same team. It's not. LeBron wants to take nights off, and I don't think he will. It's not the same team. This whole thing with Kyrie wanted to be the man, but he's going to, as a tiny brittle guy with a bunch of B-minus guys around him, I don't watch a ton of Brooklyn Nets.

I watch them in the playoffs, watch one or two games last year. I don't know him. Ion Eagle does their play-by-play. He's great. The broadcast team went local broadcast team of the year every year. They're great. I don't watch a lot of their games, right? I don't watch a lot of Brooklyn Nets games.

I don't. I watch like the top 10 teams in the league. But you got your 50 and you lost it home to Minnesota. But you better be there every night for this team. and even if you are, even when KD comes next year, you still better be there every night. Because if you take games off next year, and Kevin Durant is the man on this team,

that's not a playoff team in the West, and it's an average playoff team in the East. You're not going to be as good as Boston. Kevin Durant in that roster is not as good as Philadelphia. It's not as good as Milwaukee. I'm not sure it's as good as Toronto. It's not as good as Boston. I'm not sure it's as good as Indiana.

All right, coming up next, We're going to talk to Solomon Wilcox, former NFL or PFF. Some incredible numbers, and this is a huge week, especially for NFC teams. We have 12 teams still really in the playoff race, six spots available. Philadelphia better when at Buffalo, or it's going to get really uncomfortable. We'll look at some numbers and data before Greg Cosell, top of the hour. 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 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, calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way.

Open your free, I Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashed. human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having

trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back.

The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup. is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. I love getting under UFC fans skin. They have no sense of humor. Nothing makes me laugh harder. UFC fans have no sense

of humor. And if I can make them insane, it just makes my day. Solomon Wilcox played in the NFL for six years. Defensive backs knows a lot of stuff about this sport. And he also now is a senior analyst of pro football focus. The numbers do not lie, and Solomon is joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network. So I imagine, Solomon, thank you again. I mean, New England's defense is good. We know it's good. Historically, I'd like to see him play, you know, Mahomes and a few more quarterbacks,

but now they face Baker Mayfield. So what are the numbers telling you what we should expect from Baker Mayfield and New England's defense this Sunday? Well, Colin, if Baker Mayfield doesn't improve from what we saw in those first seven games, this could be a Sam Darno 2.0 going up against this Patriots defense. And let's face it, the Patriots have a defense. They get off the bus saying, let's stop the past first.

They know they're not playing against Red Grains. This is a passing league. They put pressure on your quarterback, and on the back end, they cover and they intercept. that's why they're one of the best defense in the national football league. In fact, it's not even close. Their 18 interceptions are 10 more than any other defense. So that's going to be the formula for them is defense has to dominate against a very young quarterback. So what are Baker's numbers against defense?

Like what does he do well or poorly and what do they do well? So what are the Baker, New England numbers say going into it? That's a very good question. Baker Mayfield, his average time to throw is. 2.8 seconds. Well, New England is second best in the NFL forcing quarterbacks to throw in 2.4 seconds. So Baker, he's going to have to speed up his clock. He's got to not only get rid of the ball quickly, he's got to get rid of the ball accurately. As you well know, the Patriots, they intercept all tips and overthrows. Baker Mayfield tends to get a deep drop in that pocket.

What happens, it throws off the timing and accuracy of those crossing routes. We've seen many of those get intercepted. He leads the league with 11 interceptions. So he's going to have to get the ball out quickly and accurately, or the ball can be coming right back at him in the hands of the Patriots Defenders. Solomon Wilcox joining us. Let's go to Aaron Rogers. He's got Matt LaFleur. It's a growing offense. It's an evolving offense. What is the data say? These are great. You grade every player, every game. That's why we trust you. Is he getting better or is it just weaker defenses? No, I think he's getting better. It's clear that the time spent with Matt LaFleur

it's benefiting both the quarterback and the head coach. They're getting a better feel for one another. I think we saw in week seven against the Oakland Raiders when Matt Rogers was in full form. They're using a great deal more play action pass to drive the ball down the field. That's why we saw a multitude of big time pass plays, four touchdown passes, five touchdowns at all for Aaron Rogers,

a perfect quarterback passerating. And so you can see this offense is beginning to evolve, even though he don't have his front line receiver. So that tells you that the coach and the quarterback are becoming more in sync and getting a better feel for one another. Kurt Cousins plays tonight. Now, we had a stat we looked at this week. Plays a bad defense.

He's great. Plays a good defense. He's no good. But is there something? Because you guys grade difficult throws, different than average throws. You don't punish guys for a lot. a tipped interception. So when you look at Kirk Cousins, what is the secret sauce behind not only improvement, massive improvement in the last three weeks? Oh, there's no doubt. He had the 28

best PFF passer rating after four games. Over the last three weeks, he's put up the best passing grade of any quarterback in the National Football League. And what we have from Kurt Cousins over the last three weeks, more play action pass plays, more big time throws, fewer turnover worthy plays. Only one interception in those last three games, and none of those interception, or at least that one, was not on play action pass. And so he's driving the ball further down the field, getting the ball to his receivers, and those big time throws are coming off play action pass. You got to give the coaching staff a lot of credit because it buys the quarterback more time to go down the field

to much further to drive the ball to an open receiver's where the coverage really does declare itself more immediately when you're getting play action pass. So Kirk Cousins is taking advantage of it. I said I want to move to Mitch Trubisky and the Bears here. I said I would

consider going after Teddy Bridgewater. Sixty-five percent completion, grown-up, mature, doesn't throw picks. With this defense, move the chains, get field goals. One or two touchdowns. I think with this coach and defense, you can not win the division this year. You could sign him to a three-year deal. He's not going to throw the ball down the field,

but I don't think that necessarily wins in this league as much as dependable 66% completion percentage and limit mistakes. So my whole point is, I think you got 31 games on Trubisky. I think he's a bust. I know it's harsh. I think he's a whiff. What does PFF say? Well, the big brains here at PFF, they tell you that when a quarterback has proven that he is not the guy, that not only do you double down and go out and try to find another quarterback, you triple down. In other words, Mitchell Chubisky has been in this league for three seasons. Even if he shows improvement, let's say over the second half of the season here in 2019, I'm not so sure you'll trust that and say we have our quarterback. The numbers suggest that you've got to go into free agency, into the draft. looking to improve upon what Mitchell Trabisky has given you over the three seasons he's been in

Chicago. Let's go back to 2012 when Seattle was looking for a quarterback, and they went out and signed a free agent by the name of Matt Flynn. Then they went out and signed another free agent by the name of Tavaris Jackson. They didn't rest there. They went in the third round and found a quarterback by the name of Russell Wilson. They doubled down, they tripled down until they found their guy. And I think that's where the Chicago Bears are. That's where at least they should be thinking entering this off season. I always say running quarterbacks work. All of them work.

They just don't last. Lamar Jackson's working. I don't know if he'll last. But when you look at the PFF grades with Lamar, my eyes don't fool me. If he didn't have two or three big drops, they would have beaten Seattle worse. That's what it looked like to me.

Six drops in that game on the road at Seattle in front of a hostile crowd going up against Russell Wilson. And what I saw from Lamar Jackson, First of all, I agree with you. I think he is here to stay. Many of us have been just waiting for that moment to take the big hit saying, you know what, I knew it wouldn't last. But he has shown us that he's more than just his legs.

He's more than just his arm. In the second half of that game, late in the third quarter, into the fourth quarter, he showed us his will to win. He refused to come off the field. He kept his team on the field, got him into the end zone. Yeah, he got some help from defense that scored two touchdowns in the game. But when the game was on the line, he got bigger. And it was as if he was challenging Russell Wilson.

His passing grade far exceeded what Russell Wilson did in this game where we all had Russell Wilson kind of written in pencil, not pen, but we had him written in our MVP, our most valuable player ballot. Yeah. But I think we have to kind of take a hold on that right now. All right. PFF.com. Go to the code. QB 25, 25 percent off. We got to run.

Solomon Wilcox. PFF, great job hour to next in L.A. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Hurd 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 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. 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 Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boat. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Polic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney.

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

Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. wherever you get your podcast. Ah, here we go, hour two. Greg CoSell, three minutes our NFL meat sandwich live in L.A., a hot L.A. This is The Herd, wherever you may be

and however you may be listening. IHart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Again, Greg CoSel in a couple of minutes. I love him if you're a fantasy football player, if you're a gambler, or if you just love the NFL. Terrific insight from Solomon Wilcox. It's Thursday night into Greg CoSell. It's really for fantasy football.

players. It's the nerd in me for betters. Just get great information, great video presentation there. By the way, this is interesting. Adam Schaefter, he's one of those guys that covers the NFL and he has a blue checkmark on social media, so he's legitimate. He generally doesn't make stuff up. He says here on Tom Brady, he's doubling down on this. He said Tom Brady is either one staying in New England, two retiring or three going to play somewhere else. Staying in New England to me would seem like the least likely option of the three. The blue checkmark Adam guy doesn't make stuff up. He's got a source on something.

Tom Brady's put his house up for sale. Trainers put his house up for sale. I said, I'm not going to speculate on how long Brady plays. I'm just over that topic. It's like Pete Rose, into the Hall of Fame. I'm over it. Listen to another show. I don't know when Tom's going to retire.

But Peyton Manning off four surgeries had seven teams lined up for him. Tom Brady doesn't get hurt. Tom Brady is still a top three quarterback in the league. And just for fun, this morning, I was thinking, let's make a list of teams that would call Tom Brady's agent Don Yee. Miami, Brian Flores, the head coach, former Patriot. Tennessee, Mike Vrable, the head coach, former Patriot. Chicago?

With that defense, you don't think they make a call? L.A. Chargers need to sell tickets. They're not selling him. Tom sells tickets. Oakland. John Gruden loves him. John Gruden loves Tom Brady. Carolina, Jags, Denver, Bengals.

You don't think that Denver would move off Laco? And then I started thinking, oh, wait, it's easier to name the teams that wouldn't call Tom Brady. Kansas City, Green Bay, Seattle, Rams just paid golf, Houston, Saints, Philly. That is it. Seven. I don't think the Steelers would. Eight. I think it's a shorter list.

It's a short list. First of all, you don't just get Tom Brady's ability. He's never hurt. You get his brain. You get his leadership. You get his toughness. You get his ability to create a culture. You get his work ethic in the building.

I mean, now, like, that's like bringing, you know, never forget. Tim Duncan won a title when he was way past his prime. Like you got Tim Duncan's work ethic and his smarts and his dependability and his toughness. Hell yes. and Brady's going to have options. Part of me wants him to end his career with the Patriots because it's always nice to see

an all-time great to spend his entire career somewhere end his career there. Yeah. But the Anarchy of me kind of wants to see this happen because I do think there is something, just a small something to Belichick wants to prove he can do it without Brady and Brady

wants to prove he can do it without Belichick. Because no matter what, and in every situation where you have a dynasty in the NFL, you have a great coach and a great quarterback. Together, they're paired. So it would be interesting to see if, you know, just for the final cherry on top of the careers that they want to prove that they can do what they do without each other. It's very interesting. And I'll just say this. You got to stop looking at numbers. Everybody ages differently now. LeBron's in his 17th year. Michael Jordan was by the end of it, Like year 14 for Jordan, he could no longer jump.

He was a fadeaway shooter. Athletes age differently now. I mean, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino are like 70. And the rules are different as well. You can't hit the quarterback the same. And nutritional standards. And Tom Brady is the, you know, the magician of all that stuff. He's the guru, the wizard of nutrition.

So, you know, George Blandy years ago was planned at 41. He looked 51. That's just not the way athletes are. you see coaches. Nick Saban's almost, what is he, like 67 years old? Nick Sabin looks great. I don't even think it's an age thing with Brady because I think everyone has moved past the idea that he's old. Like he's redefining what you can be. It's almost an asset to him now because he has such a wealth of knowledge at the position that as long as he can be out there, he's cool. I think it's just hard to imagine him with another team. That said, Dolphins,

please make it happen. Please make it happen. All right. And with that, my guy, 40 years, films. Greg Coasell love having him on. He's our NFL meat sandwich. Let's shift from Brady to the Patriots defense. So here's the thing. You get a look at film and we don't. It could be the quarterbacks that are playing. We know it's a good defense, Greg. Nobody disputes that. But are there things on your four decades of film that you look at their defense and go, wow, they're spectacular at blank? Do you see that? Well, I think let's just step back and talk about what they do, what their basic approach is. They're a high percentage man-to-man defense.

By high percentage, let's say 70%. No one plays 100% of anything. They're a high percentage man-to-man defense, and they mix and match how they match up to specific receivers in every game. So you have players who don't necessarily – you know, Jason McCordy is a corner. There are times they'll match up to tight ends. they do things like that. Then their front looks, that's where they're much more multiple and diverse in what they do. Their front looks are multiple.

They show a lot of different things with different players in different spots. Well, they're not a high percentage blitz team, but you don't have to be. Your fronts often dictate protections and how quarterbacks see them. So the way I would describe their defense is their front multiple and somewhat coverage consistent because of the emphasis on man to man. And if you can play man to man really well, that's absolutely essential in this league. It's interesting.

When Gronk left, you know Brady likes to throw to the middle of the field. Edelman's a middle of the field guy. They drafted Jacoby Myers, who was known in college as a dependable, gets open, tough middle-of-the-field receiver. So when they got Mohamed Sunu, my takeaway is, oh, that's another middle of the field, gets-old. open receiver. In a way, it's kind of replaced, that's what it feels like to me.

Edelman, Jacoby Myers. Nagil Harry, by the way, is not a burner. He's a big receiver. Muhammad Sunu feels like to me kind of a tip of the cap to Gronk, middle of the field guy. Yeah, and they do a lot of that with design as well. You see them with that quick game

play action where it's either a power run look or an ISO lead run look out of two back or a zone run look and they throw those quick game throws to inbreakers in the middle. We used to see that with Gronk a lot. We see it with Edelman all the time. Sunu certainly fits that. Myers fits that. Once in a while it'll be a little bit deeper, more of an intermediate type throw. But they do all this by design and much of it off-run

action because what that does is it opens a void in the middle of the field. Let's shift to another team. New England goes out and gets Mohamed Sanu. Jimmy G. and the Niners get Emmanuel Sanders. Now, they've got some very talented wide receivers, but they're young. And Brady doesn't like throwing a young receivers, and maybe Kyle Shanahan doesn't love young wide receivers, plus they're banged up. Emmanuel Sanders, is it a position of need for San Francisco, in your opinion? I wouldn't say it's a position of need in that they're hurting there. I think that what they probably saw was an opportunity to get a veteran receiver

to pair with a younger quarterback who can line up both inside and outside, and given all the movement that Kyle Shanahan does with jet motion, with orbit action behind the quarterback, that Sanders has done that in his career because he's another receiver who can line up inside and outside and has been effectively used as a movement receiver, a motion receiver. So he fits their offense very well because this is not an offense that feeds the ball to one receiver. Boy, that's interesting. I love watching them.

I'm always happy for guys who are in bad situations, and then all of a sudden get traded, and you're like, This is a great situation for an NFL player, and he's a nice player. Now, I want to talk about a team, and even when Andrew Luck was there, Indianapolis, maybe the Pacers, we call them the best boring NBA team. The Colts have never had a lot of flash. And Jacobi Brissette doesn't have a big arm. He's not wildly mobile.

But I got to tell you, big strong behind that offensive line, I like what I see. What is the film say on him? How low is the ceiling here? Well, I would beg to differ with you, Colin, on one point, if I might. Sure. I think he does have a very good arm. You know, maybe it's not in the gun category like a Matthew Stafford, but I think Jacobi Brissette has a very good arm.

I remember watching him at North Carolina State, and I liked him coming out, and there were times he reminded me of Ben Rathesberger with his ability to move. I remember he had a play. It might have even been against Clemson, where he just shook off defenders and made an unbelievable throw. He's a big, strong-armed kid with better movement than you think. Now, this past week, much of the numbers for fantasy people were a function of the fact that the Texans had some significant assignment issues in the secondary and could not cover crossing routes. But Jacoby Brissette is a big, strong-armed kid and a smart kid, and I think he's just going to continue to improve and grow into that role.

Wow. How about that? Boy, those back-up, that's really, because we always said on this show we thought he was a starter. It makes me happy. This team has a chance to make the playoffs on that. I like well-run teams being rewarded. All right, I got a couple things to hit. First of all, I suggested on Monday I have massively overvalued the Eagles talent. That is totally on me. Everybody has.

I watch them. What do they do well? Who's special? What do you see? Well, let's look at them this year. We're not talking about last year, the year before. We're talking about this season, Colin. Here's what the Eagles are.

It's a team that is among the slowest in the league on offense. They have no speed at the receiver position. So they're among the slowest offensive teams in the league. On defense, they cannot rush the quarterback and they cannot cover. Okay, now think about that for a minute. Think about what I just said. I know it comes across as if it's a joke, doesn't it? But it's not a joke.

This is what the Eagles are right now. So now what happens is it's Carson, you go fix it. And the thing is, Wence is a certain kind of player. He's not a pinpoint Drew-Breeze, bang, bang, bang, you know, hit five yards, six yards, seven yards, eight yards, and just march down the field, which, by the way, is the only way they can score. And their run game is not quite good enough for that kind of offense. So therefore, they're very, very limited offensively, and every throw becomes magnified. So if he misses one, and he'll miss a few, because that's the kind of course. quarterback he is, becomes magnified as, oh, he missed a throw. He's not very good, but they have

no explosive players on the offensive side of the ball. And meanwhile, the team that beat him, Dallas, I came to the conclusion this week. When Dallas is healthy, I like him. When Dallas has nagging injuries, I don't like him. That's like saying that you're a good shortstop because you can catch the good hops, but you can't catch the bad hops. It's like Dak needs a healthy O line and a healthy Amari. What did you make a Dallas's win? Well, this is one of my pet peeves. And, you know, I have unbelievable respect for you for the fact that you have to

talk every day about this kind of stuff. But, Dak Prescott is not a different quarterback this week than he was the week before. Right. You know, his whole game did not change in one week. There's reasons why teams and quarterbacks play well one week and not so well another week. You know, he

played really well against an Eagles defense that couldn't rush the quarterback and is not very good at corner. He struggled the week before without Amari Cooper against a Greg Williams defense that was very aggressive with pressure. And I think in that game they were playing with their backup tackles as well. So, you know, he ended up being under a lot more pressure in that game, and the game wasn't as comfortable for him. So this week, against an Eagles defense, the game was much more comfortable, and he made some outstanding throws. He made a throw to Cooper. I think it was the third quarter

down the right sideline. That was as good a throw as you can make. But he had settled into the game extremely comfortably. And so much of the way a player plays, it's the same with Kirk Cousins. You know, he's not different after the last two games than he was three weeks ago. He's not a different player. It becomes a function of game plan, opponent. There's many factors that go into it. I want to shift to a team Chicago that is still in the playoff race, very good defense.

I like their coach. I think 31 games is a reasonable amount of time. That would be double how many standards. Darnold has today. Trabisky has double Darnold's games. I think it's time to acknowledge he's a problem and he is limited. Does the film say anything different than that? No, and it's funny. I went back and I think it even got retweeted by a bunch of people because I put out my evaluation of Trubisky the year he came out of the draft. And so people put it out again because there's been a lot of talk. And I basically said he was not a high-level throwing talent that he needed to be a highly

schemed quarterback. And I think that that still holds. I think right now, Matt Nagy, to be fair, is really struggling because everybody says run the ball, run the ball. But they've tried to run the ball. A few weeks ago, Montgomery had 21 rushes. I think he had 18 rushes the next week. And they're not gaining yards.

So he's kind of stuck right now. It's easy to say, hey, run the ball. But if you're not gaining yards running the ball, then you're getting stuck in second and nine and second and ten, and third and ten, now you're, you're, you're, you're, you're quarterback has to make throws against defenses that have the tactical advantage. That's where the scheming is not quite as great because the defense has the advantage. And Trubisky's falling into that because he's not a great natural thrower of the football. Yeah.

Baker plays New England. I said this that I thought his accuracy was always his strength and that has dipped. You are so right about that. Yeah. I don't think it's fair for me to blame him for all of it. I don't think that's fair. but he is wild. He is more than I've ever seen him.

He's behind receivers. My eyes don't. And last week against Seattle, Greg, he had no pressure. He had a comfortable pocket. What are you seeing with him? I couldn't agree more. I made a note because I take notes on every game I watch, and I said, Mayfield still struggling with ball placement issues.

He continued to miss too many routine throws, and even some completions were not good throws. So right now, that's a concern. I think he's probably still playing a little fast, and I think that can cause a problem. But you're right. He's always been a very good ball placement passer. That's one of his absolute strength, and it was certainly a strength coming out of Oklahoma. And right now he's struggling with that a little bit.

And until that gets cleaned up, he'll struggle against any defense. And this week against New England, I mean, they're going to line up and play man, and they're going to force the receivers to win and separate, and they're going to force Mayfield to be really precise with his throws. Yeah. There's a reason that Vegas has that is a 13-point line. A lot of that is Baker against that secondary. Okay.

Finally, Aaron Rogers, listen, he's gifted. We know it. Yeah, he's pretty good. Yeah, the reason though we bring you on 40 years NFL film, you see beyond that. Let's talk a little Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rogers and how it's cooking. I think one thing that's really stood out to me the last two weeks. and when you watch the games, as I know you do, Aaron Rogers is not running around.

He's staying in the pocket. There have been fewer improvisational second reaction plays. This offense is working the way it's supposed to work. I mean, look what they did this week. They had a fullback play more than 20 snaps this week. So now this offense has a run element to it. It has a play-action element to it. And Rogers is playing with great poise and comfort in the pocket.

My sense is, and only he could tell you this, he's not looking to move as much, that he's staying there and letting the routes develop. And I think their offensive line is arguably among the top five in the league, maybe even top three. That rookie Jenkins is playing really, really well at left guard. So I think that everything is kind of flowing nicely right now. The run-pass fusion is working, and I think Roger is a more comfortable player. You got your play of the week with him, it says here. Yeah, we absolutely do.

and let's just start it right now. This was a play that started the third quarter, and this is left over from old Aaron Rogers. I bet he came in at halftime and said he wanted to run this. We used to see this with Jordy Nelson all the time, the deep circle post. And what they do with this play is they have the eye formation. Here you see the fullback in the game.

It's the eye formation. So what you have here is Jimmy Graham on the left side of the formation, tight to the formation. You have Valdez Scaneling on the right side of the formation, and what we call a reduced split. He's tight as well. Rogers is under center, and he will boot off play action, boot hard to his right.

And the route combination will be Graham on the crosser, and Valdas scaling essentially runs what's kind of a corner post or a circle post. And what you try to do here, and you're going to see in a moment with this happen, you're going to see Rogers with the boot action. You're going to see the combination route. There's Jimmy Graham on the crosser from the left side of the formation, and Valdez Scandling the Circle Post. And what you get is Valdez Scandling screaming at a safety.

And he's able to bend the safety to the outside because of the circle post element, gets across the field clean, beats the corner as well. And you probably remember this. They used to run this with Jordy Nelson all the time. And my guess is, Rogers suggested this play at halftime, and he said, you know, let's do it. Yeah, I mean, if I'm Aaron, that's a really, and you know what, that throw for him, I'm not saying it's a,

it's an easy throw, but it looks so easy for him. For him, that feels like an easy throw. Oh, yes, it is. He can make that throw. And the thing about Rogers, he doesn't miss those throws. When receivers are open down the field, and I'm talking down the field, he doesn't miss those throws. Good stuff. Greg CoSell. Love having you on. Thanks, Greg. All right, thanks, Colin. You bet. Oh, boy, Milwaukee Bucks fans, freaking out.

I know it was just one comment, freaking out. We'll address Janus, the comment. Comment. Freaking out next. 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 Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo SlicLife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the 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 hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app. or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, inside American soccer,

you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shenan.

at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, wherever you get your podcast.

On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Tonight on Thursday night football, Kirk Cod. Cousins faces his old team for the first time as he leads the Vikings against the Redskins. It all starts at 730 Eastern, 430 Pacific on Fox NFL Network and streaming on Prime Video. So let's talk Thursday night football Super 6. The last question in today's game is, which team will win and by how many points? Colin, who you got? Vikings, two touchdowns, 2713.

The only reason I don't have it like 3713 is because every time Kirk Cousins, who's playing against his former team for the first time, plays in prime. time. He shrinks. If it was a one o'clock game, I would take Minnesota by three touchdowns, but it's a night game. It's prime time. And for whatever reasons, it's a psychological thing. My guess is, he doesn't play as well in prime time. So I think it's a two touchdown game, not a three touchdown game. By the way, Vick-Synex nasal spray. Cold and flu season is here. Last up to 12 hours. Use only as directed. Nothing works faster. VicSynex nasal spray. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This

This is the herd line news. Oh, Baker, Baker, Troublemaker. Baker may feel it was fine by the NFL for criticizing the officials after the Browns lost the Seahawks in week six. He knew the Define would likely follow his comments, but he is still standing by what he said.

One, I wouldn't say it's complaining when it was blatantly obvious. I'd say that's just stating facts. Freedom of speech, I thought, you know, it's okay, but I get fined for it. This is the league. That's what they do. They fine you for some ridiculous things.

things. It's just how it is. But there's a reason everybody's talking about it. I knew I was going to get fined, but it needs to be said. People have to be held accountable for their job. When it affects my job, it sucks because it's not in my control. Oh, boy. First Amendment freedom of speech is not about that. Freedom of speech is about our government not stepping in to punish you for a comment about the reps. The NFL can obviously fine you. It makes me want to pull my eyelashes out when people say that. I mean, It's not a complicated concept. It has nothing to do with the government.

It only has to do with the government. That's it. So you and I... You and I can make a comment and our government can't jail us or suppress us. That's it. But our company could fire us. Yes.

Why is that so hard? And the NFL can find you. God. And Twitter can freak out. Did he get a call? You are entitled to say whatever you want. It's freedom of speech, not freedom from consequences. Also, you know the rules.

That's why you said it, that you were going to get fined. when you said it. I don't even understand what the point of this is. And then why double down on it? The reps are bad in one game once a week. Because there are human beings and that's what happens. And guess what? It didn't start with the Browns. They didn't start messing up in penalties when

Baker Mayfield joined the NFL. Remember I said? He always feels like he has to win the moment. You know, I tell young broadcaster, some of my friends I've said this, sometimes just don't talk. You don't have to have an opinion on everything. You don't. Like social media thinks makes all of us think we have to have an opinion on everything.

I don't. I'm in business with Fox. We do have an opinion on everything. We just don't share our opinion on everything. But there are times I'm like, I'm not going to have an opinion on that. Well, I'm losing respect. I'm not losing income. I don't have an opinion.

The network I used to work at, they're not talking about this China NBA thing. Guess why? The league doesn't want them to. This whole thing about it, you got to talk about everything. Sometimes you just say, we're playing New England. I got no comment on this. I guess I shouldn't be too frustrated because this is part of who Baker is. And overall, I like Baker.

I think he's good for the league. And I think he's perfect for the Browns. But this is just the type of stuff that makes me crazy. Because it's like when it comes to the refs, it's the most boring conversation ever, right? Like discussing a bad call or how bad calls affect the game, it shouldn't continue a day after the game. That's the window. That's your window for everyone. And mostly we talk about it.

Right. Don't you worry about it. The fans, you can be salty about it for as long as you want. That's fine. That's, like, that's why sports exists to have these conversations. There's no reason why Baker should still be weighing in on this. Like, just no comments. Like, we're on to the next game.

To double down and then to throw that ridiculous freedom of speech line in there, it's just, ah! It's like an instant ice cream headache when someone says it. It just makes no sense. So the Eagles are looking to turn things around after back-to-back losses, including an embarrassing performance. in Dallas last Sunday, and last week, quotes from an anonymous eagle player came out

criticizing Carson Wentz's performance so far. Well, Wence has said he and his team discussed it, and they've moved on, but former Eagle Chris Long is not happy with what's happening in Philadelphia. Carson is not the problem in Philadelphia. He's just not. I'm disappointed with any player that has an issue with a teammate and doesn't come to that teammate and goes to a reporter.

Because it's bull-h-that's not the way you do things. There's no way you can tell me he is not. not a franchise quarterback. I just don't believe it. His ceiling's too high. What he could do is not press as much, but what goes into that is you can't spot teams 14 points routinely. This was something I was concerned about in Philadelphia moving forward after that Super Bowl,

because even though no one agrees that Nick Foles is as good as Carson Wentz or that Nick Foles should be the quarterback over Carson Wentz, Nick Foles won the Super Bowl there, and his statue is outside of that stadium. And some players are. just going to say, Nick won, you didn't? And even though those players may think that Carson once is better, he's going to be held to that standard. Greg Kosell just told us, though,

they're the slowest receiving core in the league when Deshaun Jackson's not out there. Nobody gets open. And you have to win by shootout because they don't get a pass rush and can't cover anybody. It's either the quarterbacks fall all the time and then they get all the praise or not. And that's just kind of how it goes.

I think the bigger issue is when you start to get leaks and you start to get stuff like this, going on where you have to have conversations in the locker room and you can't get on the same page, that is, that lends to a bigger cultural issue. So, you know, if Aaron Rogers isn't getting it done, you're not going to, you know what I mean? Like, there's certain quarterbacks that even though things are, there's obvious gaps in what's going on, like when the Packers were struggling, it's like, you didn't blame Aaron Rogers, even though he's, you know, there started to be some controversy around him because it's like, he has no defense.

At the end of the day, he's got to do everything. You don't feel like Carson Wentz doesn't have pieces around him, even if his receiving core is slower or whatever. Like, you got to make it happen. So I don't, there's something to this. Like, it's more than just they don't have enough pieces. So finally, Drew Brees has been focusing on returning this week since he injured his thumb in week two. He was limited in his return to practice, but he said he felt good throwing the ball. And when asked if he'll see the field against the Cardinal Sunday, Brees said that's the plan.

But Sean Payton said he'll wait until Sunday to make a decision on whether. their Breeze can play. I've never understood this particular date as being the return date for Drew Breeze because you have a buy next week. Oh, no, no. Yeah, there's no reason to play. It's just he's Drew Breeze and he's like Brady. He's obsessed and he wants to play. No, I get it. But at some point you have to protect a player from himself and you have to put the team above that situation as well. Like, you're coming back from an injury. Teddy Bridgewater is undefeated since you've been gone. You have a buy next week and you're playing the Cardinals at home. just chill.

Like, think of the bigger picture here. Like, you're not playing to win this next game. If it's a situation like Mahomes, okay, like, even though I don't necessarily think he should play if he's not 100% in this game, that's a different situation. You're playing with house money. Why are you rushing him back?

And to the bigger point, like what you were discussing earlier with the possible trade, like the bears should pursue Teddy Bridgewater, that's kind of why I feel like you have to hold on and risk losing Teddy at the end of the year because the Saints aren't a very unique situation. As we know, windows are very small for teams to win championships. If something else happens to Drew Breeze this year, and I understand this is a fluke injury, you don't want to

be in a situation where it's a wasted season where you felt like you were right there. I feel like you have to have Bridgewater there, regardless of how, of the trade options that you have. I understand being aggressive, but having Teddy Bridgewater has saved their season. They've been incredibly lucky to have him there and been able to maintain, I mean, nobody anticipated they were going to be undefeated while Drew Breed is out. in the best case scenario possible. Good stuff, Joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Yonis MVP star in Milwaukee. I'm staying forever. Hold on a second. Speaking to a Harvard Business School professor, Yana said, so far we're doing great. If it is last, there's no place else I want to be.

But if we're underperforming next year, deciding whether to sign becomes a lot more difficult. Excuse me. I beg your jargon? What? Did y'all? So one year ago, I'm never leaving. One MVP and playoff disappointment later.

Hey, see how things go. Because he's human and it's kind of sad in life. If you don't elevate your standards, he's an MVP with a signature shoe. he wants to remain relevant. This is what human beings do with talent. They're standards. LeBron played in the Olympics and said,

why the hell am I in Cleveland with no all-stars? I want to go to Miami and play with all-stars. That's why he left. Story was he went to the Olympics and said, why am I playing with no all-stars in Cleveland? I want to go play with D. Wade and Bosch. Bottom line is, stage one of Janice's career was, oh my God, I'm on an NBA team.

stage two was, I'm getting really good, and Milwaukee loves me. Stage three, I made an all-star team, and we're getting good. Stage four is, I'm an MVP, I've got more money that I can ever spend, I want to be relevant, and stage five is, at the end of this year, if they lose in the second round, Golden State's calling, you got to consider it. Listen, no top free agents in this world in the NBA of mobility, none of the top guys considered Milwaukee. It's a thing, right? Can he get a second star there?

The whole league is going to a second star. His second guy is more like a fourth guy on a championship team. So don't hold this against him. Standards. if yours don't increase over time. As a 45-year-old, don't you want a better life than you had as a 28-year-old? Standards, he's human. They get bounced in the second round.

Golden State calls. Lakers have his brother on the bench, don't they? Just saying, don't blame the kid. Don't blame the kid. He's got standards, shoe deal. Everybody in the league is going to pay him max money if they're, They can. Coming up next, Meadowworld peace in studio.

How about them Lakers? How about them clippers? Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the 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 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.

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about. How healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now.

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines.

I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team.

It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. wherever you get your podcast. The World Series continues tomorrow with game three in the nation's capital,

where Jose Altuve and the Astros look to silence an electric home crowd, ready for the nationals' first ever October classic. Game three tomorrow at 7.30 Eastern, 430 Pacific on Fox. Meta World Peace, 17 years in the NBA, a champ, an all-star, all-defensive team four times. Good to see you, my friend. You look great. It's good to be here. You're in shape. I'm getting better.

I was hitting a 300 mark for a little bit. So now I'm just like, I got to focus and I got to bring this weight down. Okay. Speaking of weight, we were all waiting for Clippers, Lakers. I don't think it's crazy. If you asked me in the NBA today, get me a bucket. Okay. I'd take Kauai over LeBron.

Just get me a bucket. A minute left, get me a bucket. I think I'd take Kauai over LeBron now. Well, it depends, right? So, Kauai is in his house? How old is Kauai? 30. He's younger, but he's had some injuries.

But LeBron's, like, LeBron's 35. So one, if Kauai is better than LeBron today, okay, let's give LeBron a good sendoff. For the last three years, right, we've been talking about, not me, but collectively, the television networks are talking about how LeBron is on a decline. Everybody's on a decline. It's noble. And I think just like let it happen. I mean, obviously he's 35 years old. He's still an amazing player.

but he's not 25 years old. Well, you saw Kobe's decline. Kobe could still be great, but did you see it at practice too? Well, in practice, Kobe stopped practicing after a while because he was injured. And when you give so much to the game, hustle, defense, you remember that big block LeBron had in Miami, you know, when you give all that to the game, you know, and to the fans, when you get older, you're going to have some scars. They're going to build up some scars tissue.

It's not going to be as mobile. It just happens. And then the young guys, they come up, Ben Simmons and Bede. They beat you off the dribble. They're a little quicker. Is there a time? Let me say this, though. I don't love LeBron being the point.

I think in your 17th year, I would like to see LeBron off the ball more, pick his spots more. They're asking him to be the point and play 38 minutes. Well, I think LeBron wants to see the floor. I mean, LeBron is a specialist. And for one, first off, the Lakers only lost one game, so we still are going to win the title this year, right? So let's just knock that hell. We forget about how good AD is, and AD has a chip on his shoulder. But LeBron sees the Floyd's a specialist.

When he came in at 17 years old, people were saying, oh, he's scared to shoot. He don't want to take the big shot. Oh, he wanted to pass. Isn't that what we like? Team ball, the Warriors, the Spurs? But then when LeBron is an unselfish player, they say, oh, he's scared. No, he's not scared. He's building a culture.

He got how many rings? And to your point, he sees the floor. Sees the floor. He's a point guard. And you might have a point guard on that team that can run it better than him. But he's been doing this for so long, right? And he's showing the other point guards how to do it. So maybe he can go to small forward or power forward later.

But he's showing you how to get it done. If the Clippers won the title, would it become a Clipper Town over a Laker Town? Well, Bama is doing something interesting. and people, I've been talking about this for a long time. He's a tech guy for one. Yeah. He understands how to grab and retain fans. Right.

And he's doing it offline and online right now. Right. So he's grabbing market share in L.A. So he is doing that with the courts, you know, with the marketing, with the getting Kauai to come here. I mean, he battled Apple for years. Now he's just battling the Lakers, so he's good at that. And I think the good thing the Lakers have, they have good owners,

and they also have good minority owners, like Patrick Sunshan. These guys can compete on a level in terms of grabbing the market share and actually give the Lakers some support because Bama is aggressively grabbing market share and the Lakers are going to have to do it. But the Lakers, this is a Laker town. It was proven the other night in the Clippers' hometown. It's not saying the Clippers are not a good team, but, yeah, it is a Lakers town.

By the way, are you worried about Zion's body? Summer League, college, pros. I'm kind of worried about it. I'm not worried about Zion. Everybody gets hurt. I mean, the skinniest people get hurt. You know, seven foot, a buck 90 soaking wet with the cowhard on their back. Sean Bradley.

Did you get hurt this much this early? I didn't get hurt as much. And you were a guy that was running into people. I was running, hitting. So you never got hurt, and you were a physical guy in a more physical league. He's in a cardio league and he's hurt all the time. time. He should just work hard. That's it. He's injured.

It'd be reconstructed. There's a lot of technology out there. It'll get back. I mean, he should embrace that body. Embrace the body. Not lose 15 pounds. Whatever. Just work hard. It's not about the weight. It's about doing your mobility exercises. Doing your stretching. Making sure you're taking care of your

hips and your abs and your glutes. Keeping all those body parts strong so you can function and embrace that weight. Embrace it. By the way. Show the belly. I got a big belly now. So how did you get the 300, by the way?

Were you eating half and half at home? What were you doing all day? Animal style. Oh, in and out. Okay. A lot of animal style. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to lie.

That's not the worst decision anybody would make. That's a pretty good decision. All right, I want to go to this. I don't think Joy is going crazy on this. I don't think Westbrook and Harden work because they're both ball-centric guys. Sometimes you get two great players. Yeah. And they don't work.

It doesn't mean they're not great players. I think Houston's going to be a mess by the trading deadline. What do you think? Well, Houston. Hey, Heidi, throw that shirt for a second over there. I got to get something to come. Because my part is late. Just throw it.

I'm sorry to disrupt Fox's production. Just throw it over here. Okay, cool. We're going to talk about Houston, and I got a present for you. All right, cool. So these guys are on the ball point guards, okay? Right. So typically that won't work, okay?

But Westbrook wants it to work. So you can't, you know, undermine the power of the human mind. We know Westbrook is the honorable player. We know Hardin's an honorable player. But if they want to make it work, they can work. Hardin can shoot off the ball. It's all about teamwork. It's all about communicating.

It's about these guys after every game getting dinner together, getting lunch together, getting to practice early together, doing shooting drills together, right? It's about chemistry. And that's how this thing is going to work. It's not going to work if they're not communicating at all times. I just love listening to you. That is exactly right. You're not going to work.

Exactly right. By the way, MetaWorld. Thank you. Partners with Tech and NBA stars to launch an on-demand basketball platform called X versus X sports. You got a minute. Go. I got a minute. So in one minute, I'm going to.

Okay, go ahead. All right, go ahead. We got to. And Fox, feel free to take me off now. I've never done this. Listen, feel free. He's undressing. Hold on.

I get it. Okay. He doesn't dress. No, that's okay. We like it. No, DIC, whatever. Cool. You have the best body for an out of shape guy I've ever seen.

Hey, I know, I know, Here it is right there. But now, X-Vexports, finding all the underutilized basketball courts in America to support the 23 million playing basketball, recreational basketball players. Yeah. X-Vosports.com.

We just launched it. We got a lot of great investors. Charles Jolly sold two companies on Facebook. Mark Tolukes, who first invested in Skype, Patrick Sonshung, Bradle-Founder, Founder SurveyMonkey. And the list goes on and on. We got a strong, strong backers. Stephen Stokels.

And you're healthy? We're leading the investment. They're helping. And we're helping kids find games to play at their level at an A, B, and C level. And this game that we played, some of the people on the app actually made it to the showcase game that we do once a month. With players like myself, Ryan Holland's Lou Amundsen, Pargo right there. And we had a lot of great celebrities. So these people are able to get exposure that they would never have gotten.

Exverse Exports is going to be a really amazing pipeline, not only to the NCAA, but to the NBA. and for recreation and loses. I can sell anything. Metal world peace. You're welcome anytime. You were fantastic today, hour three next. Good seeing you, buddy. Thank you.

Thank you. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome back. Michelin Endurance XT. Well, Silicon Wiper Blades, Walmart, last two times longer. Michelin endurance XT Silicon Wiper Blades.

Winners here gets waney, rainy, wet, all that stuff. All right, Brady Pupinga, former NFL linebacker, our Super Bowl chant with the Packers nine years ago. I'm not going to ask you where you keep your Super Bowl ring. It's not on today. Yeah, you know, my knuckles get a little swollen, honestly.

And so taking it on and off, it kind of, it's kind of abrasive because they're so gawky, you know? They're not as big as the, who won the championship? Raptors. The Raptors. Oh, my goodness. Those things are like balls. But it's still big enough to where it's kind of difficult for my. Well, we know that you are good friends with Aaron Rogers, and I said this the other day.

It's the happiest I've seen him. Now, Aaron wants to be the man. He doesn't want to be the only man. And I feel this with Tom Brady. The Patriots now, they've got a great defense. Yeah. They got a running game. Tom wants to come to the park and no, I've got to make a couple big throws.

Yeah. Aaron, I felt a little bit, and I didn't blame him. A little bit of resentment with McCarthy that, and the front office said, fellas, can't be a shootout every Sunday. I can't win every Sunday. That's so true. I think he looks really happy. That's what I see.

He's laughing. He's joking. I don't sense. And I'm not, I've been tough on him, but I always felt like, does Aaron have to have a perfect passer rating to win? Now when he does, they win by 30. Yeah. Does he look happier to you? Absolutely.

And it's just more change, I think, is the biggest thing is he's got a new environment. It's a new culture. He's got a guy in there that he doesn't look at as like an authoritative figure. He looks at somebody, he looks at LaFleur like somebody who's on his same level. And so it's a little bit different dynamic when you go to work. You're going to kind of hang out with your bros instead of, okay, I got to go and I got to listen to this authoritative figure, which is not, it's not Mike's fault. I'm not trying to, you know, criticize Mike. It's just that was the dynamic.

Mike's that kind of figure to where he's going to control the room and he's going to put you in line. And now with Lefleur, it's almost like, all right, man, let's do our thing. What are we going to do? And there's new concepts they're implementing. and I think you hit the nail right on the head when you said that Aaron doesn't feel like he has to go out and win it every game. He could, by the way.

He did a lot. Oh, absolutely. He's capable. But there's just some days where the ball doesn't fly out of your hands is smooth, where you're just a little off and you need some help. And that kind of pressure where it's constant every single day to where you have to win,

it just wears you out over time. And so he's in a new world because, like you said, he doesn't have to feel that way anymore. And so that's the new Aaron we see right now. What I worry about with Kansas City is Mahomes does feel like. my defense can't get people off the field. And I think Mahomes is fine with it now. But if four years from now, the Chief's defense didn't get better,

Mahomes is like, bruh, I can't win 3830 every week. So I worry Kansas City, I think, is becoming Green Bay about before this year where they're asking Mahomes. Now, I said this earlier, and I've never been a pro athlete. But one of the things I like about the NFL is there's a badge of honor because of scarcity of games, you play hurt. and now, now, I guess there was a Bears linebacker that's missed games for personal reasons. And again, what's happening at home, I'm not blaming anybody.

Yeah, yeah. So that, but you hear it more in the NBA, load management, personal reasons. I think if Patrick is 80%, I think you got to play, right? Well, the NFL, I mean, you look at just how guys take other guys spots, especially entrenched quarterbacks. And the best example is far. And you look at when he was able to go and get his opportunity when he was kind of, have a washaway second round draft choice of the Atlanta Falcons traded up to Green Bay.

It's because Madiakowski went down. And then you ask Farv, you say, hey, what was the main motivating factor between wanting to play all those games? Because there were more than enough games and Farv streak to where he easily could have justified sitting out. But he did it. And it was that same thing. He's like, I don't want somebody taking my spot, but guess what happened?

If you go to where Aaron took over for Brett, it was 2007, Thanksgiving night against the Dallas Cowboys. and I was there. I'll never forget this. And it's where Brett, he had this funny bone issue. So I think he hit somebody's helmet or something, and his hand went numb, and he could no longer grip the ball. That was his thing, too.

And so he's on the sideline holding his arm. And we're down, I think, two, three touchdowns at the point. Entrots, Aaron Rogers, that's when he had the long, flowy hair. And he just is on fire. I mean, he's scrambling all the place, throwing the ball in the run. I'm just dominating. I turn to Brad. Hey, your understudy's doing pretty good.

We hadn't taken the lead yet, and he's like, oh, he's not there yet. He's doing good when we take the lead. So anyway, he goes and has an awesome game. But listen to this. Fast forward to Friday night, there's a social outing. And it just so happens to be that some of my friends and my wife's friends were the same friends as John Schneider,

who at the time was the assistant general manager of the agreement backers. Now he's the current general manager of Seattle Seahawks. And he starts sipping on some of that, you know, truth serum slash alcohol. And we start talking. and he goes Brady, and he's burping out these, like, yeasty belches as he's blowing him in my face. And I'm like, yeah, what's that man? He's like, we're done with Farv. He's like, we got our guy.

And I'm like, what? I'm looking around. I'm like, how louder? You kind of talk it loudier. There's a lot of Packer people here. And he's like, oh, no, we're done. He's like, we got our guy in Aaron. We're done.

And he's like, oh, by the way, you're going to get a contract extension. So I turn to my life, I'm like, I guess I'm getting a contract extension. Fast forward to that Monday, he searches me out. And he goes up to me, he goes, Brady, Brady, Brady. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And it gives me that look and just walks away. And I'm like, fascinating. And so for the rest of the season, I'm just like, I guess they're moving on for Fav.

And lo and behold, you know, the history is the history. But that's why, you know, nobody wants to take a day off. Nobody wants to take a start off. I mean, Patrick Mahomes, nobody's breathing down his neck. But you look at Breeze, that's a guy. That's like he's going to be negotiating his new deal. He was hoping before this season, man, I'm going to break. 40 million a year. Now with, you know, Bridgewater going out playing the way he has over the last

five games, there's no way he has that bargaining power anymore. And so, you know, you got to get back out on the field or you're going to lose your spot, potential money. So it's, that's the reason why these guys won't sit out if they can make it happen. Brady Pupinga, a great storyteller, by the way. Was that great or what? That's why we bring you on. You could almost smell the belches. What'd you say? You called them the, the hoppy or the yeastie. The yeastie belches. Oh, my goodness. Okay, Brady, let me ask you about this. I have this theory, and I'm going to throw this out to you.

Okay. If you look, be patient with me, be kind. Okay. If you talk about great defenses of all time, I have a theory on this. Okay. The great defenses of all time, the 2002 bucks, the 2000 Ravens, the 85 bears, the 2017 Saxonville Jags. We don't do this with offenses. We do this with defenses.

They're great for a year. And they're great for a year because the defensive courts, coordinator gets hired for a job. A free agent leaves and somebody gets hurt on defense because you blow stuff up. Okay. So my point is this Bears defense is special. They already lost their D.C. Yeah.

They already lost the safety. Okay. I watch them Sunday. If you stick with Tribisky, those guys look like at the end of the game. They got scorched, by the way. Yeah. At the end of the game, though, I believe defenses don't last as long as a great offense, right? because you have a quarterback you have them forever.

The defense, you get about a two to three year window where it's great. And I think the bears, if they don't move off Tribisky, I think you're going to get resentment in that locker room. Oh, you're right. I saw it Sunday. You're right. I mean, because it happened with the Broncos. If you remember them, they were the reason why they won the Super Bowl.

And they still had predominantly the same guys, same coaches, everything was the same, but their offense was anemic. They couldn't move the ball. and they're having this roll of the deck's quarterback position and eventually, and just coming from a perspective of the defender, you break. Because you know the reality. The reality is you're not going to shut out every team to play, okay? I mean, if you're a really good defense, you'll average giving up in today's era, what,

15 to 17 points a game if you're like one of the best in the league. And that still doesn't guarantee you victories. Even if you're only giving up, you know, 15 to 17 a game, your offense still has to go out and score points. So if you're looking across the field and you're seeing your offense, just struggle, it demoralizes you as a defense. And that's exactly what's going on with Chicago. Plus, they play against Tversky into practice. They know this guy is, you know, I'm not saying that he's fake and that he, you know, what he's done up until this point has been kind of like

an aberration. I mean, he could still go out there and be functional. But there's no way he's a, he's not a Deshawn Watson. He's not a Patrick McHugh. He's the fourth best quarterback in his own division. Exactly. He's not a franchise guy. He's just not. And unfortunately, they gave up a lot for him. He's drafted very high, so the expectations are there that he needs to be this franchise guy, and sometimes that's not the best position for some guys to be in. And that's absolutely the function

of the Bears right now. They look across the field, and they see Tribisky, and they're like, I don't know if we can win this game. And I don't know, and this is where it's demoralizing for a defense, I don't know if we go out and have a dominant performance if it's going to be good enough. That's where it's tough. Guys break.

Exactly. Guys break. Exactly. Philadelphia, we had Greg. CoSell on. Greg CoSell watches films. Oh yeah, I know Greg CoSell real well. He's phenomenal what he does by the way. He's great. And so I said to him and I said, listen, I whiffed. I wildly

overvalued the Eagles talent. Because I'm watching them in the first two weeks and I'm like, nobody gets open. They have no pass rush and they have the worst corners in the league. Yeah. And I think, and Greg said, you know, Wentz doesn't make plays. They don't make plays.

But there is something Joy is talked about. We know Wendz is more talented than Foles, but Foles has a statue, and Wence isn't winning. And there's going to be half that locker room. Guys are going to be like, we moved off the wrong guy,

right? Oh, Joy, you're so perceptive. Way to be. Thank you. Way to be. No, she hit the no right ahead, and this is something I've been saying for years. If you want to check my Twitter account, I'm Brady Pupinga, go for it. I said this, as soon as Nick Foles won this Super Bowl. Oh, come on.

I said, and he, by the way, won the Super Bowl MVP, I said if somebody comes to the Eagles with an attractive enough package looking for Wentz, you take it. Because you got your guy. You got your guy. To me, it's all about winning Super Bowls. And if you got a guy that can come in and win the Super Bowl, be the reason why you did win the Super Bowl,

which Foles was absolutely the reason why he had a phenomenal game against a very good, if not great, Patriot defense. Just look at how many points they give up per year that year. They were one of the top in the NFL. I felt talking about the page. So you're saying Foles is better than Wenz. For, I'm not, so I'll say this way. If I have Foles and Wentz and I'm evaluating them and there's no team and there's no scheme and none of that dynamic, I take Wins every time.

Yeah. But in the situation where you have them mixed and matched and all that with Halshon Jeffrey, that offense, Doug Peterson, the chemistry and everything as it goes, that, yeah, Nick Foles is the best option for you at quarterback. So it was an organizational failure. They absolutely failed in doing one thing. valuing potential over productivity. You've got to go always back to productivity. And the best thing is, is the contracts are set up now to where they could have been extra patient with Carson.

They didn't have to jump the gun and, oh, give him this $100 million franchise quarterback. I know why they did. They didn't have to do that. They could have kept Nick Foles around. They could have had him play out his option year. And then if needed B, maybe start to play with the franchise tag or whatever. But to me, if you're the Eagles, I mean, I might just call

Jacksonville Jaguars or at least called Nick Foles's doctor and say, hey, how is he feeling down there? And maybe try to get him back. Not maybe, no, get him back. Because he's, like I said, he needs to be in Philadelphia. For that, to me, he gives them the best chance.

Lord. What's the matter? Did I just blow your mind? No, I like Wentz. I just think, I look at the rock. I like they don't have any receivers that get open. Their backs are average. No, look, Alshan Jeffrey's greatest example. What Foles

would do, and this is what receivers love, is he would throw him open. I mean, just because a guy is covered in the NFL, you don't throw him the ball. No, then you would never throw the ball. Most plays, especially you play man-pressed defense, most guys are not open. So you've got to be able to throw them open. Wence isn't at that level yet.

Can he get there? Sure. Foles was there. All the young quarterbacks, finally. Brady Puping, if you're listening, Super Bowl champ, eight years in the NFL, smart dude. BYU or, by the way. Yeah, that's right. All the young quarterbacks, who do you like the most? Jishon Watson.

I love his dual threat ability. To me, when I played against dual threat guys, they gave us by far the most fits. And so as I'm seeing that become more of a theme throughout the NFL, that's exciting because it's true to what ultimately presses all the hot buns of a defense. But to me, Jashon just his clutch play has been phenomenal. Phenomenal. When his team's down and they just need him to make big throws,

in him. He throws just frozen ropes on the run. He's, you know, really elusive in the pocket buying time. Those things that just has a defense, you're just like, okay, dude, just, we'll just try to contain you. We don't think we can stop you. We'll just try to, you know, hold things kind of close

and hopefully our offense can pull something off. And that's the guy, Dwight see right now that's the head of the class. By the way, one of the Packers having to buy you and Aaron could hang out, go have a piece of sushi over there, Nobu and Malibu. Nobu's great, by the way. It's fantastic. I've never been there. I've heard of wonderful things. Just be careful, though.

If you sit on their, I don't know what they call it, there's a special name. It's like a balcony. Yeah. They yell this little, I think it's like a Japanese saying as they go in and out. And if you're too close to them, it gives you a headache. Excellent. Never got to yell for that thing? No, no.

I know the owner, Nobu, by the way. He's a great guy. I've worked with him in the past with some fitness stuff. So he's phenomenal. He does great stuff. Really nice guy. But so I'm not going to try to kill him. I've just, if you don't like that, if you don't like that, just

talk to the manager and say, hey, they don't have to keep yelling that every time they come over again. Love having you on, man. It's always a pleasure, man. You're really smart and thoughtful. And I didn't like the wins thing, but, you know, sometimes, whatever. All right, I got to read this real quick here. Don't be the guy in the long, sloppy-looking untuck shirt. Go to untucka.com.

Code heard. It fits perfectly. GQ calls a perfection. Put in the code heard, and it's 20% off. Someday could be the code could be Pupinga and 20% off. Things are happening for this guy. Thanks. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. No, I don't want to say I told you so, but. You guys, you're winceful. I mean, Wins is great, but everybody's not great for everybody. Now, that's a good, that's the way to say it. That's pretty succinct.

Yeah, you know, everybody is. Listen, there's somebody for everybody, but not everybody's for somebody. Whoa. Whoa. You leveled it up, Colin. I exploded my mind. Marijuana is legal in California. Speaking of being for everybody,

O'Dell and the Browns had to New England to take on the undefeated Patriots this weekend. O'Dell has said earlier that he is bringing Tom Brady a pair of goat hair cleats. It's almost like very three wise menace

bringing gifts. There were rumors a few years ago that the Patriots were trying to trade for O'Dowell. You remember that? Yes. And O'Dell said it would be a dream come true if that ever happened. You know, I think two, three years, years ago there was all speculations and all that that was going on and I was willing and ready to go over there at any point in time. And that was always a dream mind of play with Tom Brady.

Like it's Tom Brady and Belichick. It's about the way that they go about and how everything is precise and everything is, it's just, it's perfect. But you know, Tom and I talk for two, three years, like, hey man, it happens, it happens. What do you make of that? Well, I would love to see Odell shining again. It doesn't appear anytime soon that's going to happen in Cleveland's, not saying it's not possible. Don't freak out, Browns fans. I'm just saying Tom Brady and Odell would be incredible to watch.

It'd be so much. And clearly Odell agrees. So I actually don't have a problem with it because he's kind of just... He was just telling... It's not even that he's obviously planting seeds. He's just saying it. without saying it. He was just saying he said a couple years ago.

He didn't say I want to be there today. He said, No, but. I'm trying to defend him here. He just, listen, you have a right when somebody asked you a question. Odell was telling a story. He wasn't banging on the rafts or he was just telling a story. And it was a good story.

And clearly he does have a lot of respect and admiration for Belichick and Brady, as do I'm sure, most people in the league. O'Dow also said that Belichick tells him there's not going to be much for you before each matchup between them. So basically that's Belichick's way of talking trashed O'Dell before every game. So clearly they have a relationship. I mean, I imagine O'Dell is probably a little frustrated as he was frustrated in New York and for kind of similar reasons. So look, I don't ever want to see a star wide receiver's talents squandered because they can't get in the right situation. Not saying that the Browns can't get there. It's just that they're not there yet. It's like

freshly like Julio Jones. New England's going to die. double Odell and put Gilmore on Landry. So the tight end for the Browns and Nick Chubb, I know what they're going to do. They're going to put the best corner in the league maybe, Gilmore, they're going to put him on the second best guy to shut him down. They'll double Odell Beckham. That's what they do.

That's why having a great corner matters in this league. Right. You can put him on the second best receiver and take him out of the game. Then you double the one and you force a young quarterback. Old quarterbacks can figure out ways. Young quarterbacks are completely flummoxed by that. Right. And I also don't have a bottom of it because it's basically what Belichick does before every single game.

I mean, he's piling praise on Miles Garrett. He only says nice things about his opponent leading up to it. So, you know, do as Belichick does, right? That's what Odell's doing. So the Nationals took a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series last night with a 12-3 route over the Astros. Both teams scored two runs in the first inning, but Washington broke it open in the seventh. Yeah. Kurt Suzuki hit a home run to knock Justin Verlander out of the game,

and the Nationals finished the inning with six total runs. Burlander took the loss and fell to 0 and 5 in his six World Series stars. Greg, too, he's from Houston. Greg, what happened to the Astro Bats? This whole postseason's been little ice cold. What's happening? I don't know. If I could tell you, I would tell you.

I have no idea. I just can't hit. You know what? You guys had a nice run. Thanks. It's over, right? Yeah. It's a great run.

So your run's over there. Texans out after one playoff game, but you know what? At least you're fun to watch. And we got Russ and Harden tonight, right? They'll be done after the well. Oh, God, they're at nine seat in the West. Quite a life you carved out for yourself. See you guys later. Well, the series moves to DC for the city's first World Series game since 1933. Coverage for Game 3 begins at 7.30 Eastern tomorrow on Fox. It will be Zach Rankie and Annabelle Sanchez. Annabelle Sanchez are the game three pitchers. Only three of the last 25 teams to fall on to at home under the 2-3-2 series format.

I've come back to win the World Series last was the 96 Yankees over the Braves. If it's up to Tuohy, we would lead with the Houston story every day. We have to fight that off to the third or fourth segment. So this is, you have no idea. We have a guy in our staff that is his great family, but his professional career is going into the tank because all the Houston teams. Like if Deshaun Watson gets hurt, you may just take, you may go on the aisle. You may never see me again, Colin.

Well, don't worry, too. The rockets are going to make the playoffs. They might win the West. Finally, Pelicans GM, David Griffin is no stranger to dealing with media attention and controversy surrounding NBA superstars. He was GM of the Cavs when LeBron, Kyrie, and Kevin Love were together. And he plans on using that experience from Cleveland to handle Zion Williamson's start in the NBA. He said he's having been a part of a team with a phenomenon like LeBron, Kyrie, and Kevin Love, it's certainly been a learning experience that I hope we can utilize the mistakes you made then.

I hope we don't make now. We didn't ignore the noise well as a team, but now we can be in front of a lot of things. Pelicans have 30 national TV games this year, and obviously Zion Williamson is not out there for the first six to eight weeks. But I do think that this is a huge asset for the pelicans to have because he's right. I mean, he dealt with all that and the players seem to like him. He has a great reputation around the league. Oh, people love David Griffin. Right.

So this is the best case scenario for Zion to come into, which I love. Like having Zion come in generally when you get the. first overall pick, obviously. You're going to a situation that is not ideal. But you have David Griffin. You have a great coach. You have Lonzo. You have great pieces around you in New Orleans. They have a base to grow. And this year, especially, despite the hype surrounding them, they have no pressure. They have no expectations. Most people don't even expect them to make the playoffs. I watch the opening night. I think they're fun to watch. It's weird because it's all and it's all former Lakers. Right. So I'm watching these kids that I've been watching for the last

several years. I'm like, oh my God, it's all the Lakers. Yeah, they have, they have great room and flexibility this year, which I hope they take advantage of. And it's kind of lucky that they do because Zion being hurt otherwise would have been a disaster. Good stuff. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. All right, best for last. I'll give you my marquee three.

These are my college football picks. And listen, I am, let's be honest about this. Could I lose more games by a point? Now, I've had a great year for the Blazing Five. In college football, I think I've lost seven games by a point. We got three games. They're good games. They're TV games.

They'll be on. And I'll give you my feeling on all of them. Markey 3 coming up next. All of our odds, by the way, provided by Fox Bet. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Stop borrowing your girlfriend shampoo, guys. Get your own dove men plus care.

Created a range designed to give your hair the care at needs. Stay strong and resilient available at Walmart. So college football, I've lost more games. by a point this year, but no excuses. I like to pick games that we're all going to watch together. And this weekend is a very good weekend of college football. Some really interesting Big Ten stuff going on here. So here we go.

Our marquee three picks, all of our odds provided by Fox Bet, 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. Our key three, Wisconsin at Ohio State. Take the Badgers plus 14 to cover. They're 8-0 following a loss in the last three years. Paul Chris is a great coach, especially after losses.

Listen, they were looking ahead to Ohio State and got caught off guard. They lead the nation, does Wisconsin in time of possession. They'll keep it away for stretches outside of the hands of Ohio State's offense. And despite the loss, Wisconsin, defense is ridiculous. They're number one in the country in a bunch of different stats. Points, yards, yards per play. Third down percentage. They're fantastic. Their quarterback Jack Cohen lead to Big Ten in completion percentage. They lead the nation in time of percentage. Listen, they got a great running game.

Two to three pros on the O line. Jonathan Taylor's a world-class back. They complete passes. They're going to lose this game, I believe. Ohio State has special playmakers. They'll go over the the top to win it. But Wisconsin will be in this football game. Don't overreact to Wisconsin being upset looking ahead. Ohio State wins 30 to 20, but I think Wisconsin covers and moves the ball on the Buckeyes defense. Ballburn at LSU. Blowout, baby. I'm taking LSU minus 10 and a half. Joe Burrell is having, he may win the Heisman. He may be a first top five pick now. LSU finally throws the ball and Joe Burrow, the quarterback, has been sensational.

He was a backup at Ohio State. LSU's also great in big games, six and one in their last seven against top ten teams. And Auburn's quarterback is a mess. Bow Nicks, freshman against top 30 scoring defenses this year. He's terrible. This is going to be a complete mismatch. Listen, Florida played almost perfect against LSU. They played great and lost by two touchdowns.

Auburn's going to get overwhelmed. Auburn never wins this game in Death Valley. LSU wins it comfortably, 36 to 20. Notre Dame at Michigan. I'm going to just tear me out. Michigan plus one. Michigan's going to upset Notre Dame this week. They lost to Penn State, but they played a great second half.

They dominated Penn State on the road in the second half at over 150 more yards. They also, Michigan has 18 sacks in the last four games. They now have a pay. pass rush. Now, Notre Dame has a good offense, but they played one great defense this year, Georgia. And did you watch what happened? Notre Dame does not have the perimeter weapons or the running back to make plays against the top defense. And Michigan's defense now is humming. So again, remember, this is in Michigan. If you take out the Buckeyes and the Spartans, the rivals, Michigan wins home games. I think they're like 25 and O with Harbaugh at home besides the Buckeyes and

the Spartans. They've won 11th straight at home. And again, 400 plus yards and back-to-back game. So Michigan's getting their act together. I'm calling for an upset. Notre Dame's faced one good defense all year, Georgia. They struggled making big plays. Ian Book was not as good. I know you think I'm nuts. Goulet is rolling his eyes at me. Michigan upsets Notre Dame 27 to 26. Joy is rolling her eyes at me right now. You know what? If that's what you feel, Colin. Ann Arbor, they win there, except for the Buckeyes.

So I'm going to take. Wisconsin's going to keep it close against Ohio State. Close being 7 to 10 points. You always say aggressive wins. Yeah, in Wisconsin, by the way, time of possession. I'll take LSU to blow out Auburn. Florida played great against LSU, and they still boxers. They're great.

LSU could be the best team in the country. I don't think they are, but they could be. Well, now that two is hurt, now that two is hurt, they may be the best team in the country. When two is healthy, they're not. He's hurt. They probably are. How many times are you going to fall for Michigan?

Hey, I'm not falling for them. Yeah, didn't you say you were done? Falling for Michigan? You guys keep saying I'm falling for Michigan. It's like it's one of those Nigerian email scams. I'm not falling for them. They went all their home games, unless they're playing the Buckeyes or Spartans.

They went all of them, and they're getting points. You guys make it sound like this is one of those calls you get in the middle of the night. Can I have your credit card number? Sure. I don't know who you are. You're a random guy from New Brunswick, Georgia. Here's all my information. I'm not falling for it.

They're going to win. Blazing five tomorrow. Blazing five has been scorching hot. Speak for yourself 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 in 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, it was good. you're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional

who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.