The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Patriots-Jets, NBA season, AFC, and the Herd Hierarchy

Episode Date: October 22, 2019

Colin talks about the Patriots destroying the Jets on Monday Night Football, the gap between New England and the rest of the NFL, the mistakes the Jets continue to make, why the AFC race is already over, why the NBA needs a good villain, and the new Herd Hierarchy. Guests include Greg Jennings, Peter King, Rob Parker, and Chris Haynes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Live in LA and I Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS-Wan. Coming up in one hour, our herd hierarchy changes at the top. Top NFL teams, Heard hierarchy. And Joy Taylor is joining me. We are packed today. There's so much good sports going on. We got the NBA tonight. We got baseball World Series start tonight.

We got whatever that was last night. It was a mess. It was not the easiest watch. I'm sure Jets fans did not enjoy too much of that. Well, you know, I want to start with this. And I really believe what I'm about to say. And I've always been a little careful to say this, but New England has really separated from the rest of the national football league.

They've separated. 33-0 over the Jets. But it wasn't about last night. Even the teams in the league think about this that we think Joy are well run. Like we think Philadelphia is well run. They're 500 since the Super Bowl. And this morning, read the papers in Philadelphia. The franchise is unraveling.

Well, the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rogers in his career, the great Aaron Rogers is a 500 road quarterback. Is Brady? Well, the New Orleans Saints. How many Super Bowls Drew Brees been to? You're comparing them to New England? The Rams are what? Involved with Todd Gurley's contract, now completely limiting what they can do at that position.

Even the well-run teams in this league wake up in the morning at a deficit structurally to New England. They have separated from the league. I mean, think about this. Last night, that game was over before it started. And I said in the last hour of the show, I kind of predicted what was going to happen. It was worse than I thought.

but we predicted what's going to happen. But think about this. This week, the Jets had an offensive lineman that refused to practice because he was injured. The Jets fined him. It was all over the papers all week. Do you think that would happen with New York before a game with their biggest rival? I'm told, secondly, that Adam Gase never wanted to hire Greg Williams. They have an icy relationship and don't talk much.

Can you imagine if I was forced to hire Joy and we had to fake it on the air that we loved each other and we hated each other? Yeah, that probably wouldn't be good for the show, right? Chemistry would probably struggle. Number three is I was told by two GMs last year, the Jets draft was the worst draft they'd ever seen for a rebuilding team. And oh, by the way, they fired the GM right after the draft, knowing they were going to fire him, why let him run the draft?

You knew months earlier you were getting rid of him. And then last night, they mic their franchise quarterback and allow a network to play it in real time. They also did this to Trevor Simeon. But he's a backup. Sam Darnold's your franchise. You're trying to build confidence. You allow a network to not only, and I'll get to it in a few minutes,

but not only to mic him, but then in real time, show this during a game. What are you doing against the best secondary of my life? I've said this before. I'm not going to call New England's defense the best ever, although statistically it is. Secondary, if you don't have receivers that can beat the Patriots in one-on-on-on-on. one coverage like a Julio Jones guy, then you have no chance to beat them. You have got to have an Odell Beckham. You've got to have a Julio Jones.

You've got to have a guy that can literally beat them down the field. Otherwise, it is over. Listen, I'm not here to apologize for Sam Donald. He was horrific. He was terrified. They were in his head. That's not about, but that game was over before it started. There are teams in this league.

There's about seven of them. They are at a complete structural disadvantage. to teams like New England. Cleveland. Baker Mayfield has to overcome Freddie Kitchens. Washington, the jet, Cincinnati, Oakland, Miami. Those teams lose before the games start. That's why John Wooden never yelled as UCLA's basketball coach.

He'd won the thing structurally before the Bruins started games, like back in the 60s and 70s. That thing was over. You got offensive linemen being fined, don't want to play, force to play. The head coach, defensive coordinator, can't stand each other. Sam Darnold's terrified. He's Mike.

They show it in real time during a team rebuilding during the draft. You knew you were firing the GM. You let him control your draft, and it's the worst draft on a decade. What are you doing? What a mess. You know, we forget these are businesses. Because it's sports, we don't think about them in those terms. These are just businesses.

Last night, New England's a great, a well-run business. The Jets are a mess. They're a tire fire. He got controversial stuff happening during the week. The head coach can't stand this guy. What are you doing with Donald? He was terrible. He was terrified.

We said yesterday on the show. Jets have injury-riddled offensive line. They have no receivers that can beat New England's corners. Sam's going to try to overcompensate, and I said make two or three egregious throws. How did I know it would be four? I didn't think it would be 33-0, but I thought it was going to be double-digit New England win. but to allow them to be miced your franchise quarterback and use it in real time, what in the hell are you doing, Jets?

Here we go. Sorry, sorry. He really said that? Oh, man. That's the boogeing man. It's real. That's crazy for him to say that. That makes it real, you know what I'm saying?

Nobody in the Jets front office, nobody in operation, raised their hands and said, you guys, he has 16 career NFL starts. This is Belichick and the best secondary of our lives on Monday Night Football. We may not want to allow this to be taped. Nobody raised their hand in the building? It's just incredible. Nobody said, guys, let's do it against Miami. Let's do it on a bi-week if we play the Bengals.

Now, let's do it against the best secondary of all time. What a tire fire of an organization. I feel bad for New York fans. Between the Knicks, the Mets, the Jets, and the Giants, you guys are getting hosed. You are getting hosed by your front offices. All right, let's shift gears to this. NBA season starts tonight. Zion Williamson is out for two months.

I'm bummed. I love him. Clay Thompson this morning, out for the year. Katie's out for the year. Everybody keeps telling me they love competitive balance and they love parity. but it's kind of hard to focus on competitive balance. The Clippers. Oh, wait.

Paul George is out at least a month and Kauai's on load management, I'm told, won't play more than 65 games. New Orleans. Zion's out for too much. Boston. Well, they lost their star. It's now a collection of B to B plus to B minus player. Sixers. Well, they lost their most captivating talent.

Jimmy Butler, who now went to Miami, who's not a team with a chance to even get to a conference finals. What about the Warriors? You all told me you hated them. You all kept telling me they were bad for the league. Yeah, terrible. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Clay Thompson, Draymond Green, and the best coach. Just terrible for the league. Does everybody realize there's a reason Avengers has a villain, that all those superhero movies all have a villain written into them? The Warriors were the bad guys. I didn't agree with it, but they were the villain and the Miami Hedles were the villain. And of the 20th greatest players of all time, I think 19 have been on dynasties. This league's all about dynasties. Parity is never driven

the ratings. Competitive balance is not a legitimate topic. When we talk on this show about MJ and LeBron, I'll get a million and a half Facebook views. You know how many I'd get for a parody topic? Eight. Since when? Have you ever argued? You know, at a bar with a buddy over parody. I like Denver this year. I like Milwaukee and I think Utah's excellent. Those guys aren't moving the needle as a national talk show host. You know what is?

And I don't apologize for saying this. I'm going to talk a lot of Lakers this year. I don't apologize. I'm not doing it because I live in L.A. I told you last week, they're the most interesting team. Because LeBron gives me a little villain. The Lakers give me a little villain. Anthony Davis bailing on New Orleans gives me a little villain.

and I like it. You keep telling me how you can't wait to watch competitive balance. Dynasties and superstars historically are what we watch. Good guy, bad guy, white hat, black hat, conflict. That's what we love. We love arguing about that stuff. And I'm not going to apologize about it. The Lakers are the most interesting team.

I mean, tonight, think about it. Tonight, the league opens, they have four teams on TV. The Pelicans don't have Zion. The Raptors lost the heart and soul, Kauai. Clippers, Paul George is out. Lakers, they feel the most whole, and I can't wait to watch LeBron and AD, and I don't know you don't like them. But, you know, I like talking about the greatest, not the most fair and even.

I like talking about teams that get under your skin, not about the Denver Nuggets, playing really hard and having home court advantage. And I'm not going to apologize for it. You can say this year's going to be great because everybody's more even. I'm talking Lakers. I can't wait to watch them. And I think they're a little too old and I don't like their bench. But I don't buy Clay Thompson out, KD out, Paul George out, load management in, Zion out.

I don't buy. That's great for the league. More stars, have them join, give me a dynasty. I missed the Warriors already. All right, good stuff today. Coming up next, the Patriots who can't, you listen, they're not perfect. New England's not perfect. They can't draft a receiver to save their life.

So they went out and got a good one in the NFL this morning. We'll talk about that coming up. Mohamed Sunu is now a patriot and what it means. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard 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 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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone. It's Ryder Strong and Will Fidel from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast.

We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor.

I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion at the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists

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So if you didn't hear, Patriots, Acquire wide receiver Mohammed Sanoo from the Falcons. Belichick knows this defense is special and they're going to go for it. Mohammed Sanoo is a big, rangy wide receiver can play in or out. They tried to draft in the Patriots did in 2012. He went to Rutgers. You know Belichick loves Rutgers guys.

High IQ. They're already on Twitter this morning. LFG. I'll let you figure out what that means. Tom Brady returns. See you soon. He was a star triple option quarterback. Mohammed Sanoo is your classic Patriot.

But there should have been eight and an NFL. teams last year. In fact, last, this morning, there should have been eight AFC teams that watched that game last night, 33-0-0 Patriots and said, oh, hell, uh-oh, we got to add something. And we wake up this morning, and it's the Patriots who are very good at collecting draft picks and then using them at the perfect time. It's the Patriots off a 33-0 win that adds something. Folks, New England's weapons now, Julian Edelman, best slot receiver in the league number one target. Ahmed Sanoo, high IQ, veteran, inner out, big size, your number two. 2A is Josh Gordon, world-class athlete who tends to get hurt occasionally.

He currently is. And now Philip Dorset can be what he's meant to be a fourth option. Oh, yeah, they've got the best coach. Oh, yeah, they've got the best clutch quarterback. Oh, yeah, they'll play all their playoff games outside of the Super Bowl at home. And oh, yeah, they have the deepest running back set in the National Football League. and all of them seemingly great wide receivers too. Folks, I'm going to say something, and nobody has heard me say this ever.

It's over. The AFC is over. Maybe Aaron Rogers, Drew Breeze, maybe they can beat Newing. The AFC's done. The Kansas City Chiefs, really, they couldn't get Jacoby Brissette off the field. They don't do anything well on defense. Last year they at least got sacks. Now they don't get those.

Once Andrew Luck retired with that offensive line and that general manager and coach, the only thing left was Kansas City. And now Mahomes is not and will not be 100% the rest of the year and has no defense. And watches more of the game than he plays because of that lack of defense. The AFC is over. Sorry to break your heart. But Andrew Luck and my healthy Mahomes with that defense last year were absolutely threat. Kansas City's defense can't get average quarterbacks off the field, and Jacoby Bressett's a nice kid, but he's not Andrew Luck.

If you go look at the key quarterback statistics, he's about the 17th best quarterback in the league. That's with the great coach and a great offensive line. And the other thing New England has going for it, they face the three perceived threats left in the AFC. They face the Texans, they face the Chiefs, and they face the Ravens in the regular season. So they're going to get a look at Lamar Jackson before they'd have to face Ler. Lamar Jackson in Foxborough. They'll get a look at Patrick Mahomes playing at 75% before they'd have to face him in 9 degrees in Foxborough. So they're going to get a practice round against Lamar Jackson and a practice round.

And I'm just here to tell you, when New England gets a peak before they have to face you in the big games, you know how it goes. The AFC is over. And it doesn't please me to say that. I know you think I'm a Patriot Homer, but I like competition. I loved watching Peyton Manning and Tom Brady go for it. I grew up on Ollie Frazier. I like their being real competition. I've said this.

I love college football. You got to give me more than Clemson and Alabama. You know, I love college football, but you've got to give me something. And again, I'm in the dynasties, but I like them to be challenged. I like them to have to go to a game six or a game seven. The AFC is officially over. closed for business. New England. High Patriot fans, lived amongst you for 10 years.

I'll see you down in Miami. February 2nd. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Sam Donald had the worst game of his NFL career last night. He only completed 11 pass attempts for 86 yards. Worse than that. And turned the ball over five times.

It was a night he probably wishes he could forget, and Donald was obviously unhappy with his performance. It was a rough day out there. Rough night out there. I definitely think I was pressing too hard. You know, trying to get a 24-point score in one play. You know, it's just... I just got to take it one play at a time

and continue to, you know, play the game the way it's meant to be played. You know, as bad as that was for him, that is good perspective for him to have on a loss like that. When you get down, often you press because you are trying to score 24 points in one play. And while that doesn't make any sense to say, that is your mentality. We're down by so many points.

I've got to make a big play. I've got to switch the energy around. Rather than when you see comebacks, like, for example, Tom Brady's amazing comeback in the Super Bowl, it's not about big, huge ways. It's about just doing what you do correctly, not turning the ball over, and executing the play the way it's supposed to. Move the ball up and down the field. Maybe you won't win the game, but you won't get blown out because you're pressing.

This is the 20th straight game. Belichick has beaten a first or second year quarterback. And that was only Donald's 16th start. And remember this. This is the best New England defense. In that 20-0 run, this is the best defense. I'm not going to say it's the best defense I've seen because it doesn't have a dominant pass rusher.

But the secondary has two elite corners, two elite safeties, and it's the oldest defense. What's interesting is, Albert Breer told us this last week, as the NFL is getting younger at quarterback, Belichick, who's always gone opposite of the league, said, I'm going to put in a veteran defense that can be multiple, can do a million things. And I mean, Donald was lost last night.

He was lost. And that's okay to be lost. Like, I don't think anyone needs to overreact to this loss. Like, it's Sam Donald's a bus, and he's not going to have a great career. This is what Belichick does to young quarterbacks. Everything he just said is true. So looking into this game, like you said,

it was very easy to predict. This is what was going to happen. We just didn't know it was going to be that bad. I remember watching Troy Aikman go 1 and 15. Okay. Listen, I have seen Peyton Manning his fourth year in the league. I think he led the NFL in interceptions. He just fell apart.

It's a day. Structurally, the Jets have way bigger issues than Sam Darnold's game last night. And you can't just flip-flop from last week being so high on Sam Donald to this week being so low. It is Belichick and you should keep it in perspective. That said, one. he never should have been miced up. Like, who would do that? Even if he's not on his 16th NFL star,

it's Monday Night Football Against the Patriots. Can you put it on anyone else? Just anyone else? Because the reality is when you have the mic on, that's in your mind. Like, you're paying attention to everything you're saying on top of trying to focus on the game. Like, he doesn't need that.

It's just an added element of distraction in this game. Does anybody in management in that building just raise their hand and go, 10-in-time minute, guys, this is not the moment to Mike Sam Darnold and then allow a network in real time to air it. What are you doing? I don't have the answer for you, Colin.

I really wish I did. It's bizarre and it makes no sense. But I like that he has that perspective on it because that's what the coaches should have said to him. Like, calm down. It doesn't matter how much we're down by. Stop trying to save the game. Just go out there and do what you do.

Take a deep breath. Make the pass. Make the play. It doesn't have to. There's no play in football. and score you 24 points. Yeah. So just relax.

Clay Thompson's recovering from a torn ACL. He suffered during game six of the NBA finals. There was some hope that he might return later in the season, but Steve Kerr is being a little more realistic with the timeline. He said it's unlikely that he's going to play this year. So we have to understand that. Generally, an ACL for a basketball player is a full year recovery. And if it's a full year for Clay, that puts him out for the season.

I wonder though if they were like, first of all, I'm kind of selling all my golden state stock. This morning, because of this story, I feel differently about this team. So I said, don't bail on the Warriors, but now without Clay Thompson, they have no bench. So we knew that. So DeAngelo, Clay, Draymon, Steph,

that was a core four that allowed Willie Colley Stein. They went about seven deep. Without Clay, you're a six-man team. The rest of those guys are G-leaguers. So this team has no bench and now really no third guard coming. So I think they're just going to, they may be interested.

interesting early. I don't think they have the depth of athletes. You can't lose KD and Clay Thompson both for a year and have no bench and compete for the championship. KD. and Clay Thompson are very good players. Some would say irreplaceable. But the thought was if Clay came back, they could move DeAngelo Russell and then re-up their bench or bring in another veteran peace. But if Clay's not going to be back, they can't move. Can't move it. So yes, I'm with you on that. And I I really didn't ever buy into the idea that play was going to be back that early anyway, because what Steve Kerr is saying is true. Like, first of all, there's no way Golden State rushes back another player ever.

Yeah. So they're going to make sure that he is 1,000% with multiple opinions and making sure that he himself feels ready to go before they put him back out there. And that's not going to be a rush situation anyway. On top of the fact that he's right, it does take that long to recover from an ACL. And you've also, you have so much equity with your fan base. You know, when you win championships, multiple championships, you buy rebuilding years. Like there's lost seasons.

Like, Andrew Luck, the cult fans aren't selling their season tickets. Andrew Luck gave them a lot of wins. And now he retires and you're bummed out with Jacoby Brissette. But if you win enough, you don't even have to win championships. But the Warriors have bought so much equity in that market. You have a couple years. I mean, we saw this with Denver. Like, you have a couple years where fans will be a little more patient with not.

Once you win the Super Bowl. Yeah, not winning a championship, but at least being competitive. Finally, the Lakers start their highly anticipated season tonight against the Clippers. This is LeBron's 17th season, but he still feels the anticipation going into the first game. I mean, it's like the first day of school, you know, the first day of school, going back to school, you know, laying your clothes out the night before. Just that excitement of getting the thing back going. I mean, I love to play the game, and obviously I had the longest layoff of my career. So to be where I'm at physically, mentally, no matter who we opened up against, I think for,

for TV, for you guys, for everybody that, you know, this is part of y'all job to, you know, be Hype Beast. Tuesday is a great day. Anthony Davis also expressed his excitement, but with some nerves also. He said there'll be some butterflies and just being nervous. Hopefully afterwards is a good feeling. Even if we lose, it's still going to be a good feeling, though, that I got to play at Staples for the first time. It's going to be a great season. We're going to make sure we have fun with it.

Now, Kuzma's out for how long? Do we know Kuzman's out for a little bit here? I mean, by the way, they still feel pretty whole. But I got to tell you something. Of all the teams in the league, this is the one I'll have to watch every night. I'll have to watch this every night. They're going, well, they were a soap opera last year. There'll be a little bit more of it this year because there's always something going on with LeBron.

And they have very high expectations. And it kind of feels like this is a year where even though we're not exactly sure what this roster is, there's not any building excuses. Like you got the guy you wanted, you got AD, you have everything in place now, so you're here in Los Angeles, it's winning time. And the Lakers and Lakers fans

are not going to accept anything less than the championship. I don't love their bench, but Golden State has a worst bench. Houston has no bench. In this era where we pay superstars in the NBA a lot, there's a lot of bad benches in the NBA. And I mean, you can't pay everybody, right? Right.

So the Lakers don't have a great bench. The Warriors have no bench. and doesn't have a great bench. Very few teams in this league. The Clippers, this is why I like the Clippers to win it. The Clippers are one of the only teams that go nine deep. Young, old, veteran shooters, rebounders. Clippers have...

They're a very complete team. Very complete team. And that's why I think the Clippers win it. But I don't think the Clippers will be quite as fascinating as the Lakers because Kauai is going to give you about 64 games. And he's not a big docker. Neither is Paul George. Right. In the end, I think they'll be very good.

Yes. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line. By the way, there's no timetable on that. My guys just told me that. Kuzma's missing tonight's game.

There is no timetable on Kuzma. So they could, in a week, be a very whole team. A lot of things to talk about. When I watched New England last night, my takeaway is, oh, my God, they just added Mohamed Sanoo. You get to a point where you're like, who stacks up against them? I think Green Bay you have to consider. I don't think anybody in the AFC does.

I think Green Bay stacks up because Aaron could do his Aaron thing. And I think New Orleans is a great team. team. And with that we go to Greg Jennings, to play in the NFL for a decade, a couple of Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, via the Coward Global Satellite Network. I'm watching Rogers LaFleur, Greg. I'm seeing them after the game. The vibe is very good. You know, you and I talked about this. You can't bring in a new coach in a new system. It's not going to work overnight. I'm a media guy. We've got to be fair. Do you think we're getting to a point now six, six, seven weeks in, to what this offense will be. B. Yeah, I do. I mean, and we obviously are seeing it manifest right before our very eyes. And the reason why I believe it's working is because of the guy throwing the football Aaron Rogers. The fact that they don't have a Devante Adams, but they're able to spread the ball around to guys who we haven't even heard of, it's giving them a created depth. It's going to make them better in the long run.

but I think essentially what's what's been the number one driver of this has been Aaron Rogers, his ability to adapt to new schemes, to be patient with LaFleur and this offensive scheme, and just simply light it up as we saw this past Sunday. Yeah. I said this, you know, I'm watching the Patriots last night. And if I was in the AFC, I would have watched that game, gotten on the phone to try to make a trade to stop New England. and I wake up this morning, and it's New England that makes a trade to get Muhammad Sanoo.

You know receivers better than anybody at this network that I work with you and Chris Carter. Tell people about Muhammad Sanoo. He's a big kid. By the way, the story this morning, they tried to draft him years ago. He's friends with the McCordy's. What do you know about him? He's a special guy. He's a consummate pro.

He does things the right way. He goes about his work the right way. He's not one of those me, me, I, I guys. You would like to classify. as a diva receiver, so he's not going to distract or take away from what they already do. You put him on this team, and he's already second in receptions as far as the depth at receiver behind Julian Ellman. Their second leading receiver is James White, so you add another threat, and you look at the future

of Josh Gordon. That's unknown. Nikiel, Harry, like, Harry, we don't know what he's going to provide for them. He's still injured and out. So he gives them a solid guy who's going to be able to catch the football, smart football player who's going to jump into their system right away and catch on pretty quickly. And he's going to obviously help them in the passing game.

Yeah, he doesn't have your speed. I'm not saying that, but he does remind me of you that I could put you in an offense, Greg, and you'd fit within six days you'd have the playbook memorized. Not that he is you, but he reminds me a little of you. The beauty about guys like Muhammad Sanoo, he's very smart. He's going to catch on to the playbook right away. But it's not so much even catching on to the playbook. It's developing chemistry.

When you have smart guys, savvy guys, veteran guys who understand how to get open, it's not always about the speed. He's going to be where he needs to be all the time. Talk to Matt Ryan in the bottom. Matt Ryan absolutely loves Muhammad Sanoo. He trusts him in big down situations because he knows he's number one reliable. and he's consistent as far as running depth and running routes and not even so much creating the separation as I alluded to,

but just making the plays. And so I think that in and of itself, you pair that with the Tom Brady, it's going to be a nice new shiny toy for Tom Brady. By the way, I admitted over the weekend. I have wildly overvalued the Philadelphia Eagles. I don't think they do anything particularly well. I see stories today where there's leaks, there's noise.

Carson Wentz, the offense is too complicated. It's a mess this morning. Lane Johnson said, you know, people are getting late to practices. That sounds like a poorly run organization, but yet I know they're not a poorly run organization. Have you ever been in a locker room where you have some success? There are 500 teams since they won the Super Bowl, and it goes to guys' heads. I mean, when you guys went in Green Bay, did it get a little looser the next couple years?

No, it really didn't. And this is my concern. I said it today on Air on First Things First. With them having won, I know it was a couple years ago, but there's complacency that tends to set in. Guys aren't as hungry. Guys aren't as driven. They feel like they have accomplished or they have a sense of entitlement.

And so it's almost that mindset or that mentality of, what can you tell me now? I've achieved whatever it is. Well, Carson Wentz is the only one on. that, well, not the only one, but the one that we typically tend to point out that didn't have that playoff and Super Bowl experience that the other guys did. And so when you start to lose, obviously he's the quarterback. He's going to bear a lot of that criticism, in which he should, but he's the one that's still as hungry as ever, but tends to be the problem because he has

that fire. He's probably the only one that really has that fuel and that fire. And that fire, of not experiencing it, even though he has a ring to show for, he didn't experience it. He didn't go through that process, and he wants it for himself, I believe more than what those other guys do. So his level of competitiveness, his level of driven and passion is going to be hired than the other guys. And I'm not giving him a pass or an excuse because this level of play has to improve for them to continue to be what we thought or think that they can be.

But I think that's a lot to do with it. And finally, I want to go back to the Jets. Obviously, New England's 20-0 last 20 games against first or second-year quarterbacks. Darnal was awful. He tends to be a playmaker. We kind of predicted yesterday. He's going to get behind, try to make a play, and make bad throws. But it was so bad last night.

He gets caught saying, I'm seeing ghost, which is a term that's used around the league has been forever. Do you believe this morning that Darnold was so bad and that comment that it sticks with him? and there are people in their organization, perhaps executives and players that are like, Donald's not the guy? Like, did he basically bake his career last night? No, no, not at all, not at all. He was playing against the number one ranked defense in our league right now who are taking the ball away from anyone or any opposition who finds ways to not allow you to put the ball in the end zone.

And so that was just a. experience that he just caught the New England Patriots at the bad time, at the wrong time. It was great that he was out the first week, the first time, possibly, so he didn't have to go through this and we're just now seeing it. But it was just a young guy who was thrown a lot and tried to make things happen and felt like he was getting pressure sometimes when he wasn't because he was experiencing, let's be honest, he was experiencing pressure, he was under the rest the entire game. And so you tend to do things and feel things that aren't, necessarily there. In that term, I was seeing Ghost. It is definitely something that we hear often

in our game, but I have never heard a quarterback actually say it, which doesn't sit well in the locker room. Yeah, that's pretty ugly. Greg Jennings, 10 NFL season, seven with the Packers, Pro Bowls and Super Bowls. Thanks, Greg. Absolutely. You bet. Yeah, Muhammad Sunu, and the reason I compare him to Greg Jennings is some guys are just pros. They show up. They figure out the playbook. They build chemistry. Their locker room lubricators, not agitators. And they just work.

Sunu doesn't have Greg's speed, but he's big, strong, figure the playbook out. And like Tom Brady was quoted a month ago about Nikiel Harry, the rookie, saying, listen, we've had, he was quoted on WEEI Radio in Boston. He said, we've had a lot of young guys come in. It's really hard to learn this offense. You just can't walk out of college. Come to us. A lot of young guys at wide receiver just do not work in this offense initially. So it's not that Nikiel Harry is a bus.

I made a call on that last night. It's just Dorset's been in the league forever. Edelman's been in the league forever. Josh Gordon's been in the league forever. Ben Watson's been in the league forever. James White's been in the league. That's New England's offense. It's a grown-up, highly complex, very sophisticated offense

that a 21-year-old kid out of the Pack 12 isn't going to figure out in a couple months. So you get Mohamed Sanu, smart kid, Rutgers, played quarterback in high school. Patriots wanted to draft him in 2012. You bring him in. six days, memorizes the playbook, probably not next week against Cleveland, the following week, he's ready to go.

Coming up next, a wide receiver that is high maintenance and that is not a lubricator and too often an agitator. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and no. 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 answers.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

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

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

Search Learn the 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 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. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong, and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the PodMeets Twirled podcast.

We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Star, Traders. And we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion of the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the Desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha-hoo.

Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune to to to the Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Guys, stop using your girlfriend shampoo. Get your own. Get one built for your hair to keep it strong and resilient. Dove Men Plus Care available at Walmart. Don't use somebody else's shampoo.

By the way, the Jets are now responding to the criticism that they allowed their young quarterback to be miced against the best secondary ever on Monday night football. Adam Gase came out and said, we're going to have to reevaluate our relationship with that network. I'm not blaming the network, by the way. Networks should be asking for as much access as they can. I'm not blaming the network, the place I used to work. That's not on them. networks, you know, we ask all the time to do things and companies go, you know, no, you're not going to be allowed to do that. This is on the Jets.

Re-evaluate your decision-making. Yeah, it's terrible. By the way, I know all you think I love Darnold, I hate Baker. Baker has created his own stuff. I feel dangerous, the police video. Donald is like, doesn't drink on his birthday. Donald's not a public figure. Donald hides from this stuff.

This is one of these Jets officials that came up to him and said, hey, put this on. Do you think Donald really wanted to work? worry about that crap? That's so, I mean, it's just a second-tier organization. And unfortunately, structurally, there's about six teams in this league. And the quarterbacks asked Josh Rosen in Miami. Baker's now dealing with Freddie Kitchens, who's learning how to be a coach on the job. I mean, this is Washington. What a mess. They let Jay Gruden leave, Sean McBay leave, Matt LaFlewer leave, and Kyle Shanahan. Four really good offensive coaches. You had them in the door, you let them all go. What are you doing? It's an offensive league. You can't let four of those guys go.

You got to keep a couple of them, right? What are you doing? Jets. Okay. So, you know, listen, we just talked about Mohammed Sanoo and how he'll fit in New England because, is he the fastest guy, the strongest guy? No, he's a grown-up. He's an adult.

And New England's got a very complex offensive system. What do you know, Odell Beckham find 14 grand for not wearing pants that cover his knees. Companies have a right to dress codes, okay? So now we've had a watch, a visor, a necklace, and pants. Pay attention to me. Pay attention to me. Again, this organization has four players I would build around. I would call it my foundation four.

And if you're not into the team and you're into you over the team, you're not one of them. Those four players are Nick Chubb, Baker Mayfield, Miles Garrett, Jarvis, Landry. That's who I'm building around. And if one of those guys becomes more about them, and I think Baker's in it for the Browns, I do, and I have my issues with Baker, but you drafted him, he's your guy, protect him. Give him help. Give him a legitimate head coach and a real offensive line. That's your foundational for.

If you are into you, watch, visor, look at me, pants. That's just to get Instagram followers. That's just because once he left New York, buy an orange Bentley. he wants to get Instagram followers and keep his Google trend numbers up. And this site, a lot of you were like,

oh, it's no big deal because he went out to his Instagram and said, oh yeah, like this is going to get me hurt. That's not the point. It's called a uniform, you know, i.e. uniformity. If a Delta pilot said, why can't I untuck my shirt as a pilot?

I mean, it's not going to make the plane crash. Er, that's not the point. You're trying to send a message. with your dress code that you're an organization that's buttoned up because when you get on a plane, you think about safety and you don't want some guy to have hat on backwards tie-dye shirt out of his pants. Uniformity equals, this is what leagues do. NBA, by the way, has got, you know, all sorts of rules. I mean, you can't, by the way, you've got to stand for the anthem in the NBA. NFL's not that rigid compared to the NBA. NBA at one point had a dress code. And that was after games.

That weren't even on the floor that was after games. So the NFL's like, yes, you can't have your, if you looked at his knee pads, they were up, you know, around his thigh. You're not allowed to do that. But, you know, this is a classic, let me stay in the news, let me get attention. This is the Orange Bentley. I want Instagram followers. I'm not into it. I think there's four guys I'd build around.

Everybody else walks. This is what New England's done for years. Brady's not, the McCordies aren't going anywhere. Tom Brady's not going anywhere. Everybody else, I mean, for a long time, they had an offensive lineman named Logan Mankins. I felt like for about six years, he wasn't going anywhere. But, you know, New England moves off people.

They pick three or four guys. They think they're good leaders about the team, not about money, not about fame. They want to win. I think Julian Edelman feels like one of those guys, but I even think Edelman's probably got a year left and they'll start looking for the next guy. So you've got to build around foundation.

guys and foundational guys can't be about their Instagram followers. They got to be about the team. And that's nothing against Oda. But you got to find guys that are, by the way, there are certain people, you know, Tony Gonzalez, Hall of Fame or set it on our show. 3% of this league is all in, totally committed, into the team, about winning. It's not about the money. They all want to get paid.

I get that. I want to be paid. You want to be paid. I get that. But this is just watch, visor, this is look at me, pay attention to me. I'm not into that stuff. I said it before. protect Baker Mayfield.

Get a left tackle. You can talk about your receivers all you want. Baker Mayfield against New England could get hurt. That offensive line against that pass rush, you saw Donald last night. You got to give Baker help up front. By the way, Jacoby Brissette's not a world-class talent. Jacoby Brissette looks pretty good because you've got four seconds to throw. Baker Mayfield's a better thrower of the football, I would argue, than Jacobi Brisset, right now in their career.

By the way, look at Baltimore. Lamar Jackson struggles to throw it. winning. Why? Support, foundation, O-line, running game, big tight ends. These young quarterbacks need help. They don't need Instagram followers. They need help support them, especially if they have New England coming up. It's Guy Co-Ween. It's October. It's Guyco Joy. So scary. 15 minutes can save you 15%. The deals are so good. It's almost scary. Geico-ween. Hurd hierarchy. Top 10 teams in the league. A lot of movement there coming up next. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the 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 iHeartRadio 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Wilfredel from PodMeets World. And now the PodMeets Twirled podcast.

We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it?

Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion of the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha, hoo. Ha ha, ha, ho. Again, we are experts.

So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Oh, second hour going to be good today. Peter King, Rob Parker, both in the house. This live in Los Angeles is the herd, wherever you may be in. However, you may be listening.

IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. I have not even started, begun to unveil all the things I have to say. I take notes during the show. I have a series of notes. I am not even a third the way through them. Today's show is just flying by. NBA starts tonight, World Series tonight. It's Houston against Woll.

Washington. I'll take Houston. They've been there before. Great pitching. Tom Perducci last hour. Last 15 minutes of the show. Also, Chris Haynes stops by NBA season. Lakers Clippers tonight. I got a million things going on in my life right now. All of them good. But it's busy time. And Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy decided today. We decided to wear Packer colors. I'm wearing the green shirt. You are wearing her. Is that? Yeah, it is kind of a green shirt. You match the set today. Stunning. Thank you. Yes. We have Packer colors on. All right, so this is one of these things. Everybody has lists and stuff.

I really like doing this, and I really take a lot of time doing this, and I think about this. I give you my top 10 teams in the league, and wins don't mean you're in it, and losses don't mean you're out of it. These are what I believe are the 10 best teams in the league, not based on this week's results, although this week's results are figured in.

So here we go, the herd hierarchy. Heard hierarchy. Time is now, let's go. The top 10 NFL team. teams according to college. Number 10. I got to tell you something. Baltimore Ravens are fascinating.

Does everybody realize they held Russell Wilson to 48% completion percentage? Like that doesn't happen in a 65 passer rating. Russell Wilson doesn't give you many of those. They're also second highest scoring team in the league.

This is what's funny about them. You know, everybody's like, well, they got limitations. And they do. They're not a great vertical team. They're second in the league in scoring, folks. really like what I saw with their defense in the second half, shut down the Seahawks completely. That tells me they're also well coached. Maybe their ceiling is higher than I give them credit for, but boy, did I like what I saw in

the second half. Now you add Marcus Peters, who solves, at least for the time being, their one dilemma, which is they're not very good at corner, Baltimore 10. Number nine. I think the second smartest team in the league is Indianapolis. I think New England and Indianapolis, first of all, second in, you know, total penalties. They don't get penalized.

They don't give up any sacks. They can control the ball. They don't have great running backs, but between Brissette doesn't make dumb throws. This is just a well-coached team. Now, again, why do I have them this low? Don't over-react to the win over Houston. It was one of the easier picks on the board. They were off-a-by, and they were much healthier than Houston,

and well-coached teams off-a-bye do very, very well. Well, but I will say this. Last 16 games, they've won 13 of 16. This is a team with a brilliant GM, a great scouting department, a grown-up at quarterback, and the best young offensive line in football. And I would argue, Darius Leonard, maybe the best young defensive player in the league, not on the 49ers. That kid is a stud.

Number eight. Houston Texans. Now, I know they lost Indianapolis. But they were banged up on the road. the Colts were off a by. Neutral fielder in Houston, I think Houston's a better team. First of all, they'll have a higher ceiling. The Texans have forced a turnover in 20 straight games,

a longest active streak in the NFL. They're also fourth in total offense and fourth on third down offense, which is a huge stat for me. They have an offensive line that is young and getting better by the week. Again, they had opportunities in this game, but you had a fresh, healthy Indianapolis squad. I think Houston's still going to win that division.

Number seven. Carolina Panthers. Once again, Ron Rivera's done it, built a great defense. Let's take our eyes off Christian McCaffrey for a second, and let's pay attention to Ron Rivera. Who has the most sacks in the NFL? Not the Bears, Carolina. Who has the second most takeaways in the NFL? Not the Bears.

Not the Patriots. Carolina. This is what Ron Rivera does. Now, Christian McCaffrey's great. and Kyle Allen, it's one of the four undefeated quarterbacks in the NFL. But this once again goes to one of my primary arguments. This is one of the best coach teams in the NFL that consistently has a top eight defense. Stop talking about Cam.

This team's been winning with running games, coaching, and defense for years. Carolina 7. Number six. Buffalo. Now, I've said this all year. Ceilings low for me, but here's an interesting staff. What have I been bragging about with the bills all year? The coaching.

They are now 3 and O off a buy with Sean McDermott. Very Belichekian. Very Sean Payton, Andy Reid. Bys matter more to well-coached teams. They have an 18-game streak of not allowing 400 yards. Tom Brady looked absolutely awful against them. Now, there are some limitations offensively, but I will say this.

When they get into the red zone, they give you sevens, not threes, Buffalo at six. Number five, Minnesota. Here's the reality of Minnesota. If they play a great defense, Kurt Cousin struggles. If they play an average defense, Kirk Cousins is Peyton Manning. But their overall roster is loaded. Receivers A, tight end, A, running back, Delvin Cook.

It leads the NFL in scrimmage yards and rushing yards per game. He's great. They get sacks. They get after you. Their offensive lines okay. It's not a liability. It's okay. But this comes down to me.

Now, be careful now. They have been five and two in four of the last five years. So they tend to start real hot here. Let's give them about three or four more weeks. But in terms of total roster, front office has built a little bit of a juggernaut. Number four. Green Bay Packers. Again, you finally gave Aaron something to work with.

Preston Smith and Zadaria Smith are the only duo in the NFL, each ranking top ten in sacks. You got two great free agent linebackers. Didn't have to pay a fortune for him. You went and got a safety from the Bears and drafted one. You got to give Aaron Rogers accessories. You can't make Aaron Rogers feel like when he drives to Lambo. If he doesn't have a perfect passer rating, they lose. I think it's made Aaron a more comfortable quarterback, a happier quarterback,

a guy that doesn't feel he has to add lib as much, meaning he'll get rid of the ball quicker. By the way, they're one of three NFL teams, top 10 red zone offense and top 10 red zone defense. That's a very New England Patriot stat, Packers at four. Number three, 49ers defensive front is frightening. It's just first rounders everywhere. They lead the NFC in time of possession. What does that mean?

You can't sustain drives against the 49ers defense. Only the Ravens and their ball control offense have more time of possession. I mean, listen to this stat. The Niners of sacked opposing quarterbacks on nearly 11% of their dropbacks. What? What is this like a college stat? That doesn't even make sense. It's the best defensive front in the NFL, and the defense's age, the average age is 25.

So this defense is going to be salty for years. Number two. Talent IQ coaching New Orleans Saints. By the way, Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Brees, as predict. no huge drop-off, although I do think Drew was better. They don't turn the ball over. Five giveaways all season. How many teams go to a backup, and they're just as efficient?

You can win games, but you're never just as efficient. Five giveaways, NFL law, one-off the NFL low. Since Teddy Bridgewater took over his passer rating, excellent, fourth in time of possession. Now, I don't think you can keep Teddy Bridgewater after this year. You can't because he's going to go to the free agent market and get $18 million somewhere. Chicago, but it's a great story. I'm happy for Teddy, and they got a lot of smart players, a nice mix of young and old and the great coach.

Number one. It's not just off last night. They're putting up numbers now that are cartoonish. Despite their so-called offensive struggles, they lead the NFL in points per game. They added Mohamed Sanu. Four games this year with at least four takeaways. And again, it's a punitive defense.

there are defenses that are very good, but they don't punish you. These guys just take them all away. So Tom Brady now is getting a shorter field. He is getting their offensive lines, really their only issue, but it's not an issue when you don't have to sustain 78-yard drives, and your drives are 38 and 48 yards. They allow a passer rating of 35.6 this year, which doesn't make any sense. And again, they don't have a singular,

elite pass rusher, but they provide on a weekly basis a very good pass rush, asked Sam Darnold, who was seeing ghost last night. Peter King's around the corner. Also, let me just add this. Can I do that thing? I want to show you something last night that happened, the thing where I'm going to talk about Bill O'Brien and Belichick. So I saw this this morning, and this can be kind of confusing.

So my accountant's job is to find loopholes. That's not illegal. That's what they're trying to do. That's why you pay an accountant. Find breaks and loopholes. That's what every accountant in the world's doing. You don't hire accountants that don't seek every little advantage. This is where Belichick is brilliant.

So last night, even though they were leading 33-0, Belichick acknowledged there's a loophole in the NFL rule, and he was shown smirking on TV with a 33-0 lead. As these penalties were being called, he knew he was eating close. lock up. He hates the Jets and he hates the Browns. He despises both those teams. And he was smirking at this. And he admitted after the game, he goes, listen, it's just the way the rules are set up. We're able to run quite a bit of time off the clock without having to do anything. That's probably a loophole that should be closed and probably should be closed. But right now

it's open, so we used it. And now this, everybody goes, oh, they're always cheating. No, they're smarter than your team. And I'll give you an example. I think Bill O'Brien's a solid coach. Keeps winning divisions. This weekend, in a game in which they needed all their timeouts late and time, on a very obvious run out of the end zone play for the punter, the Houston Texans were a mess, and they wasted 30 seconds, and they wasted a timeout. Do we have the sound of this?

Here is the video of it. Sorry for the radio audience. It's a very obvious run out of the end zone, give them the points, punt the ball, get it back. They wasted all sorts of time. they wasted a timeout on this. And I don't think Bill O'Brien's a terrible coach. I think he's a solid coach.

I think he's very good offensively. He's won divisions. But this would not happen in New England. They are simply, they know every rule and every loophole, and they use every single one of them. They are the masters of this sport. And last night's a great example. They have a loophole, so what are they doing here?

They're jumping off sides. They're burning clock. They're getting through the game, and Belichick is, smirking. They're cheaters. No, your older brother's just smarter than you. Stop saying he's a cheater. Stop saying the guy that has the better office is a cheater. He's smarter than you. He's working you. They were manipulating the clock last night. He's trying so hard not to show teeth there. He's so happy, but he knows if one little, one little tooth pops out, it's going to be the biggest controversy of all time. As long as it keeps it tight-lipped, it's just, it's the rules.

Listen, they just, this is what they do. They do. This is what they do. The Baltimore Ravens a couple years ago, the trick play. Hey, it's not their job to announce, here's a loophole. We're not going to use it. It's their job to find the loophole like an accountant, and then you guys complain about it later.

Coming up next, Peter King. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed 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 controversy, calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsLice 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 Slicelife Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Wilfredel from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you, I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it?

Yeah. Just because we... Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay, to the desperate pleas of finalists, to a bunch of who, ha, ha, ooh, ha, ooh, again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This Friday with the World Series on Fox, Smackdown moves for one time only to FS1, all the great Smackdown superstars in action live at 8 Eastern 5 Pacific, then

re-airing at 11 Eastern 8 Pacific only on FS1. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair in action. I want Charlotte Flair on my show. The Queen, don't mess with the Queen. You know Charlotte Flair? I do. I talk to Charlotte Flair at the Smackdown Live premiere on Fox. Nobody disrespects the Queen.

No. Tui, get her on the show. On it. You can't just love the Houston Astros all day on this show. I need Charlotte Flair on the show. I feel like we can make that happen. You're an important guy around here. Yeah.

You've got a relationship now. She's kind of busy. She is. All right. Last night, there were a lot of things I didn't like. I thought it was outrageous that Sam Darnold was miced, and the sound was used in real time against the best secondary of my life. Let's go to Peter King, three-time sports writer of the year nationally,

NBCSports.com, Peter King, via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Before I get to the Darnold thing, which I just thought was, really not what you want to do with your franchise quarterback. Let's first talk about Muhammad Sanoo. So now you've got Edelman, Josh Gordon, Muhammad Sanoo, Brady, Belichick. You've got the best core of running backs who can catch in the league in this defense is absurd. Peter, I don't like saying this. I don't make proclamations like this very often. But I do feel like once Andrew Luck retired, Kansas City was the obstacle. I think the AFC's over this morning. I don't think Kansas City can

I don't think they can get New England off the field. I feel like Muhammad Sanoo is something, and it decides the AFC. Am I nuts? Well, they might have been able to win the AFC without them, but I think you're missing one team, and that's the Baltimore Ravens. I think the performance they put on in Seattle on Sunday showed that they're going to be a tough out for any team come January. And Colin, we'll see in 12 days.

New England at Baltimore. you know, it seems like we've seen New England and Baltimore play 65 times. And all 65 have been in Foxborough. Right. And so now, let's see what happens when they actually play in a different place, you know, in downtown Baltimore. That is so funny. But again, I just, I agree with you. I agree with you.

I think the Patriots are heavy favorites to come out of the AFC. but I just remind you that every year mentally Bill Belichick does not prepare for October 22nd. He prepares for January 22nd. And so we'll see where all these teams are. We'll see what happens with injuries. We'll see if the Ravens can play on an equal footing with them when they play a week from Sunday. I want to show the sound last night. The Jets allowed their franchise quarterback facing the best defense,

face perhaps on his career to be miced. Let me roll the tape first. See him goes. Let's put this ball in the end zone. Yeah. You get the ball in the second half. That's right. So listen, we got to reset right now. Yeah, you got you. You know what to do. Yeah. I didn't like a mic in him. I think that's, I don't like that. I'm not, if Donald's not seeking publicity, that's not who he is. What did you make of that? Well, first of all, I probably wouldn't have miced my quarterback.

with a terrible offensive line going against the best defense that anybody has seen in years. I mean, look, if in the 8% chance that the Jets would have won that game, how great would that have been and how wonderful would it have been for the Jets franchise? But I think when you do something like that, A, you have to be pretty sure that you're going to have control over what gets out. and B, if it isn't going to be in your control, I wouldn't have a mic'd either. So that's the whole thing. I think you have to have control over those situations and you have to make sure that you got a pretty good chance of looking good when you do it. I'm a fan of player mobility.

I have defended LeBron leaving and Kevin Durant. I've left multiple times in my career. I always side with a professional athlete that can move. and it's one of the reasons I think the free agency period in the NBA is better than the regular season. It's fascinating. Jalen Ramsey, it felt a little NBA-ish. What do you make of it? Is the NFL becoming more of a players league?

Well, Kevin Demoff for the Rams, the COO, who I'm sure you know, I sat with him in Les Sneed in a bar in Atlanta on Saturday night. And Kevin Demoff said the NBA is coming to the NFL. and this obviously is a good example. Jalen Ramsey held the Jacksonville Jaguars hostage. They blinked. They took two ones for him and a four, and they let him go. And I can tell you that the Jaguars thought

that Ramsey was going to play for him last week. And when he didn't play for him, when he had the injury that wasn't an injury, and that lasted into a third week, It was then that they decided, okay, we're going to take the best deal. And I believe that the Rams willingness to give two ones trumped the Eagles' willingness to give a one and a two, which Adam Schefter reported on ESPN Sunday. And I think that they were the last two teams standing who wanted Jalen Ramsey.

And now we'll see if it pays off. You're only guaranteed to have Jalen Ramsey on your roster for the next year and a half. Yep. So that's a heavy, heavy price to pay. pay if you're the rims. You know, something that I joked yesterday, the hardest thing for men to do is not lift weights, jump out of planes. It's to admit we're wrong.

I think sometimes in the NFL, Arizona's like Josh Rosen's not going to work. We're moving on. And I applaud that. It's a time that Chicago said, we've got 31 starts here. This roster is good. We made a mistake on Trubisky. It's not working. We're last in key categories.

That's with a very clever head coach. The general manager, Ryan Pace, has done a great job assembling talent. They whiffed on Tribisky. I don't think that's unfair. I mean, don't you have to at some point acknowledge they made a mistake here? I wrote on Monday that, you know, after watching snippets of that game, I certainly didn't watch it all. But after watching snippets and then the Turbisky lowlights, you know, after on Sunday night, I said, it's, you know, I think Matt Nagy owes it to his franchise and owes it to the other 52 guys in the locker room to basically play the guys who give them the best chance to win this Sunday against the Chargers.

That's what he owes his team. And look, I'm not in any way saying that Chase Daniel is a guy who, you know, I'd want to, you know, I'd want to base my whole season. on or risk my whole season on either. But I just don't think, especially Colin, at Soldier Field, what's going to happen when Mitchell Turbisky runs out of the tunnel and they see him warming up ready to start another game, a game that is absolutely must win for the Chicago Bears? What are they going to do? You can't tell fans, don't boo. And I think Mitchell Turbisky will, if he goes out to play on Monday. I think he gets booed before he throws his first pass. You know, I threw this out. Joey and I talked about this. In the NFL, you can't pay your quarterback position 40 million

bucks. I would go and I would get Teddy Bridgewater. I mean, it's a great story, but once Drew comes back, you can't pay Teddy. He deserves to be a starting quarterback in this league. I'm Chicago and I look at my defense. And Peter, I roll the dice two years, three years on Teddy Bridgewater. I know what I'm getting. High IQ, coachable, accuracy. passer rating's been great. Am I nuts on that? No, not at all. I think it's, I think it'd be a good move. And you wouldn't have to necessarily cut Mitchell Trubisky right now. He hangs around. Maybe he's salvageable. You don't know. Maybe he's salvageable. And if so, then you get him to take a deep breath and to learn behind

a pro and, and learn with a pro. I think the one other team, though, Colin, will not be surprised. if the Denver Broncos make a play for him. Yeah, because obviously you saw Flacco. I mean, have you ever heard of a former quarterback and a current high-profile analyst kind of laugh at the quarterback? Because it sounded to me in the fourth quarter, Troy Aitman was certainly laughing at the Denver offense. I mean, I think he might well have been laughing at Joe Flacco.

I mean, it was that was as embarrassing and offensive performance as much because, as Aikman said, There's no sense of urgency. Where's the hurry? They've got to score three or four times now. Let's go. Let's go. And it was all like an August preseason game.

Yeah. So to me, I think you're right. Chicago would be a great place for Bridgewater, but watch out for John Elway. I don't think Elway wants to cast his lot with a rookie who might or might not win. That's just my gut feeling. He brings in Bridgewater and he gets to have time to see if Drew Locke can be a long-term guy. Yeah.

NBCSports.com. Peter King, great talking to you, Peter. Thank you so much. Thank you, Colin. You bet. Yeah, I think Teddy Bridgewater is one of these guys where, you know, is he top 10? No, but I got news for you. When you have these windows of all these great young players,

I mean, you're obviously paying Khalil Mac of Fortune, but you can't give Trubisky another contract. Then stop. What are you waiting for? All these teams that move off their quarterback are happy. All these teams that move off their old slow quarterback they're happy or their young, incompetent ones. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Steph Curry is a three-time NBA champion, two-time MVP, and six-time All-Star. But Michael Jordan thinks he still has a little bit more to prove. Back in 2013, Jordan set a pickup team of Akema Lajuan, Magic Johnson, Scotty Pippin, Jamesworthy, and himself would be unbeatable.

So when he was asked if he would make any changes to that group today, he doubled down on his choices. Would you keep the same four? In a heartbeat. When I'm going into trenches, I play against and with all these guys. I'm going with who I know. Every single night,

every responsibility to go out there and represent greatness every single night. So Steph Curry shouldn't be offended when he watches? I hope not. He's still a great player. Not a Hall of Fame yet, though. Oh, I think he is. I think he is.

I think if you're the best ball handler and shooter in the league in a seven, eight-year period, Maybe there's one more year left, but I don't know what he has to prove. I mean, I'm pretty sure he's considered the greatest shooter in NBA history. Oh, yeah, he is, yeah. And he is, without question, transformed the game. Like, he is what you think of when you think of the three-point shot. Yeah.

But Magic Johnson is coming to Michael's defense, because obviously a lot of people are very upset that Michael said this. Yeah. He said, everyone relaxed. We know Steph Curry is a future Hall of Famer. Michael Jordan couldn't say it because he would get fine, by the league. Oh, is that it? So magic has gotten defending him.

I mean, I don't think so because he did just say he's a great player. So if he was worried about tampering or whatever. I don't think, by the way. That feels like a bit of a stretch. Name drop. I just ran into Steph Curry's agent at dinner the other night. Steph Curry is one of the coolest cats. For his greatness, has very little ego.

Steph Curry's not losing one second of sleep over this. No, and he shouldn't. But it's just, you know, this is kind of what Michael does, though. But it is, I mean, Steph Curry is a North Carolina guy. That's right. You know, we think he'd get a little love there. But if Steph Curry retires tomorrow, he'll be a Hall of Fame. So Tua Tuna Tungabailoa suffered a high ankle sprain against Tennessee last weekend.

He's already been ruled out for Saturday's game against Arkansas. Yeah, Arkansas is terrible. Nick Saban gave an update on the quarterback's recovery, but he has not settled on a return date just yet. You know, an update on Tua. You know, surgery was successful. There's no real timetable, you know, for his return. So we're hopeful that, you know, in a 10-day period, he'll be, you know, back being able to do pretty active type rehab. And we'll see how it goes from there.

But these things are pretty unpredictable at this point. Two has been banged up a few times, like his second or third injury. He's had type rope surgery. He had type of rope surgery to stabilize his ankle on Sunday. So Redshirt sophomore Mack Jones is going, the backup will be starting Saturday against Arkansas. they are a 32-point favorite, according to Fox Bet, right now. And then they have a buy the week after, and then they have LSU. Okay, they're not beating LSU, and they're not, I'll be honest, they're not beating LSU without Tua.

And I like Alabama, but Joe Burrow now is an NFL quarterback. Yes. So you're not beating. And LSU doesn't have Alabama's defense, but they can match up in the trenches just fine. Well, Sequin Barclay just had a high ankle sprain. I don't believe you had the surgery. just did rehab. But this is kind of tricky because, you know, Sequin was only out for three games.

So he could realistically be back if everything goes well. And rehab goes well and he's feeling well within like four weeks. But unfortunately, the LSU game comes right after the buy. So it's this week to buy them at LSU. Then they're at Mississippi State and Western Carolina. You feel like they can handle those games. But then they have Auburn. And Auburn's good.

Georgia's good. LSU's good. Yeah. Does this affect his draft stock at all? It's a very good question. It's a very legitimate question. I don't know the answer, but I will tell you this. My first thought when it happened, watching it was, oh, God, he's hurt again.

I think there's going to be people in this league that are like, if you get hurt in college football, Sam Bradford, you get hurt in the NFL. I've never felt like he was the number one overall pick. I've been on that consistently. And I mean, obviously, like, there's no control over whether you get hurt or not, but I do think that this is something to think about. You know, it's interesting, too, because Justin Hurried. Herbert is wildly talented, but he can be unbelievable in one series in Erratic the next.

All the quarterbacks this year coming out are talented. They've all got something that concerns me. Jacob Easton at Washington looks very flacco to me, where I don't sense the urgency, big arm, doesn't move well. So they've all got an issue, and it just depends on in that room, what GM can sell his take on the quarterback. Well, good luck to the Dolphins and the Washington Redskins and Cincinnati Bengals. So finally, the MVP race is now wide open with the injury to Patrick Mahomes.

According to Fox Bet, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers are now co-favorites to win at plus 275, followed by Lamar Jackson at plus 650 and Deshawn Watson at plus 700. And Patrick Mahomes is now fifth at plus 1,000. So it's getting a little interesting there. Tom Brady is still pretty low on the list. Although I don't think that Tom Brady is the MVP. It's it. To me, like, he always plays an MVP level.

for the most part. But it's just the story is a defense. And at this point, Bill Ballard-Jack. Wouldn't it be fascinating of Lamar Jackson won? And he's completing nine passes a weekend. But he would be a symbol of what's happening to the league. Yeah. They're second the NFL in scoring.

And we're like, they can't pass. And sometimes they can't. But there's a new world happening here. And I find, I told you this two weeks ago, Baltimore is a fascinating watch. They are. They are fun to watch. I mean, Patrick Holmes was pretty much out of it at this point because of the weeks that he's going to miss.

with the injury. Aaron Rogers was my pick before the season started. And Russell Wilson, it's just going to depend on they have to win those big games down the stretch for him to stay in it. But the Bravens are going to win the AFC North. So Lamar Jackson's already in it for that. So it will come down to who

finishes the strongest at the end of the season. And it should be noted. Aaron's done some of this without his number one receiver and his number two receiver and his number... Very good argument. Yeah. So Aaron's doing it without, you know, and a brand new offense. Without all his pieces. Yeah. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that the news. And thanks for stopping by.

You know, I only get Rob Parker about once a month, but he stir stuff up and he just goes nuts on stuff and Rob Parker's going to be joining us next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays and 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. down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to

hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 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 or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Keer games is 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 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. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong,

and Wilfredel from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge.

That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion

of the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of who. Ha ha, ha, who. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune

in a pod meets twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to Podmeats twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. By the way, before I get into Rob Parker, last week, Urban Meyer came on the show, and I asked him about Lincoln Riley, the great coach of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys, and I asked Urban Meyer, I said, hey, do you think Lincoln Riley would consider it and Urban talking about the brand of the Cowboys, Urban Meyer said this? That's the one. You know, that's New York Yankees, that's the Dallas Cowboys, that's the one.

Great City. You've got Dak Prescott, you got Zeke Ellie, you got loaded team. To me, that's the one job in professional football. You kind of say, I got to go do that. Yeah, and he was not talking about himself. And I said, would you take a call from him? He goes, oh, yeah, sure. I've known Urban for 15 years.

He's not an NFL coach. He's never had any interest in it. He's buddies with Belichick. If he wanted the Cleveland job, he could have had it seven times. He's not an NFL coach. He's told me before he doesn't watch. NFL football. He's a college guy. 99% chance Urban is going to end his career broadcasting here or a college job.

Just because somebody comes up to me and says, I watch the media in amazement. Oh, he's lobbying for the Cowboys job. No, he's not. He's talking about the brand. If somebody came to me and said, wouldn't it be great if you could call the Super Bowl? I'd be like, yeah, of course, that'd be great. I'm not lobbying for Joe Buck's job. If certain phone calls you take, if you're in the NFL or if you're a football coach and Jerry Jones calls, You call back. If Oprah calls in my business, you call back. If you're a professional athlete and magic or LeBron call, you call back.

If you're in tech, Mark Zuckerberg calls. You call back. There are certain people. If Jerry Jones calls, you take the call. Yeah, ideally you don't. You try to answer well. They're still calling. You don't have to return it.

I've known Urban for 15 years. He'd be the first to tell you. People have been quiet. He's like, I'm a college football coach. And he, by the way, he's a great announcer. So I'm watching the media speculate that he's lobbying for a job. No, he wasn't. I just asked him questions because that's my job.

Context matters. Yes. I said, would you take a call? And he's like, oh, yeah. Of course. It doesn't matter if you're the best college baseball coach. The Yankees call. You take the call.

It's just part of the biz. Let's call in Rob Parker. Sometimes I would like not to take his call. He's outrageous. When I call Joy or I call you, you guys send me the voice man. Rob Parker, sports contributor and antagonist. So let me start with this. Let me start with this.

I don't like to make proclamations, but the AFC is over. Andrew Luck retires. Mahalms at 70%. Just acknowledge it. It's over. I'm not buying that. Have you seen the teams that they've beaten seriously? Before you crown the Patriots,

defense. I mean, last night's Monday night football game to me was like the NFL version of the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals. The only thing missing was the confetti. That's how bad it was. Colin, are you kidding? And the Patriots, are you ready? I even wrote

it down because I don't want to make a mistake. The opponents that they've beaten this year, other than the Buffalo Bills, right, are 6 and 26. These are like the worst teams in the NFL that they've had on their resume, when they played the bills who were 5 and 1, they won the game 16 to 10.

Tom Brady struggled, 18 for 39, 150 yards, and an interception. Somebody can beat that team. I'm talking about a good football team. They have not been tested yet. Get off of it. The only thing I will say is Tom Brady remains the lot, the luckiest of all time, because when Patrick Mahomes got hurt, I was like, here we go, another clear path to another Super Bowl without earning it.

Are you kidding? You know what? I lived in Connecticut for 10 years. I have a lot of friends who love the Patriots. So in Miami, I got to see all my friends. It's very exciting. Okay, let's go to the Cowboys. So I've come to the conclusion with the Cowboys.

When they're healthy, I like them. When their offensive players are hurt, I don't like them. So if they go into the playoffs with both tackles, Amari Cooper, I like them. How? Did you see Dak Prescott? you still were overwhelmed by him, 239 yards, one touchdown, one pick. He's a mediocre middle-of-the-pack quarterback. Everything has to work and be perfect for him.

The example is always you need a quarterback, Colin, who can win a game by himself sometime. Did you see Aaron Rogers what he did without his top receivers? Yeah, no, no, you want a quarterback who has the... Once in a while do that. Yeah, three times a year can win a shootout. And he can't do that, and that's the problem. when he won the first three games against All So Rands, everybody went crazy.

Oh, Dak Prescott, my partner on the radio, Chris Boussard, he's entering elite territory. I said against two. And then when they played three teams, decent teams, what happened? They lost all three. I would still take Wins in a lifetime, Carson Wins, over Dak Prescott any day of the week. I will say this.

Let me defend, Dak, on this. Wentz is a better talent. I'm not disputing that. Armed talent, not close. You read the stories today in Philadelphia? I mean, good God. There's more nonsense with Carson Wants, simplify the offense. He's not loved in the locker room.

Never get that from Dak. They went in a three-game losing streak with Dak. Not a peep from that locker room being disgruntled. Not a peep. And 25% of your salary as a quarterback is that crap. I get that, but here's the other part. Talent always wins out. I still would rather have a quarterback.

excuse me, who I'm not that crazy about. You notice, Colin, you work with people all the time. You don't have to love the people you work with, right? Right. Okay, but if that guy's the most talented guy in the room for doing what he does, even though I might not want to go out to dinner or hang out with them, I still respect the talent. And the guy that makes the big throw and can do those things

is the guy I want to be on my team come Super Bowl Sunday. Okay, everybody's saying, I want to shift to this. NBA starts tonight. There's a lot of parity, competitive balance, blah, blah, blah. I think the Clippers are going to win it. I think they're the deepest team. Great coach, two stars. And I just, I like the way they're built.

I think the Lakers are the most interesting because I don't feel the Clippers are a villain. I still think LeBron, AD, bailed on New Orleans, the Lakers brand. They're a little bit of a villain. So I think villains are fascinating. Everybody's telling me this year there's competitive balance. You agree? I'm not buying it. I'm hearing this all over.

Oh, yeah, this is the first year we do. don't know who's going to win the NBA title. Really? The Los Angeles Clippers. I know it's hard for people to grasp. Look at what that team did a year ago, Colin. 48 wins after they traded their best player, right? 48, they made the playoffs.

They beat the Golden State Warriors twice in Oakland with a healthy Kevin Durant. And then you add two stars, Doc Rivers, and to that squad. They have the best defensive team in the league. They really do. and they have everything that you would need to win a title. Here's the thing, too, because the way the NBA, you know, they did the new CBA and the NBA, and it was veteran guys basically paying themselves.

You know, the average players don't make any money. So what you have in the NBA is a collection of stars on several teams, but no bench. Golden State's got no bench. Lakers have no bench. Houston has no bench. The Clippers? They have a bench.

They go 10 deep. So I do think they may not be the most artistic team. load management. Kauai is going to play 65 games. But when you get into a seven-game series, the Clippers are going to throw waves of guys at you. And here's the other thing. It's just that because of their franchise history,

it's hard for people to embrace that the Clippers are going to win a championship. The same way everybody thought Kauai was going. How would you pick the Clippers over the Lakers when you have LeBron James and that uniform and all the history, right? And he still picked the Clippers. The Clippers also, here's the last part, have the brain trust upstairs to make a move if they have to. They have the owner. They have Jerry West.

They have the other front office people. Good point. Right? They can make a move if they need to at some point during the season. Are you convinced the Lakers can make that happen? No, that's a very, very good point. By the way, what do you make in the Lakers? I don't think they're a bench.

I think they're about two bench guys away, and I think it's an old roster. Kuzma's the only young guy. I just think their age at some point will be a factor. They'll be nagging injuries. I agree. And we told that AD has missed 14 or more games in five of his seven seasons. So he always seems to get hurt at some point. We're hoping that he doesn't get hurt, but these are the facts.

And then LeBron James, everybody says, oh, he's got that look in his eye. And, oh, he's more rested than he ever was because he had the postseason off this year. he still didn't play defense a year ago, and this is year 17. So I want to see, and I also want to believe that he's going to turn the team over to AD. I don't buy that for one second. I think you and I agree on that one. I'll believe that when I see it. Right? I don't believe that at all.

That's not who he is. That's not how he plays the game. Rob Parker fires away World Series tonight. We'll have them on next week as well. We've got to go. We got to go. Nationals. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the IHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Don't use your wife or girlfriend shampoo. Get your own available at Walmart. Dove men plus care, strong, more resilient. Your hair's different.

Chris Haynes, Senior NBA insider Yahoo Sports, used to cover the calves. The Warriors, and he is joining us now as the NBA season starts tonight. Let's start with Zion out for eight weeks. Chris, this was the concern, right?

the knee, the weight, the torque, the speed and power in which he plays. I wonder if around the league, I mean, I heard an exact tell me a year ago, he's like, I love him, but I don't think he lasts 10 years. Yeah. Well, look, we saw it in college. He lasted one game in Summer League before they had to shut him down. And now it's going to be a delay on it making his rookie debut in the NBA. The general manager, David Griffin, who I know I've covered when I, you know,

when I covered the cast back in the day. Yeah. He came out and had some pushback to those who were saying weight is a concern. He says Zion is an elite athlete and this didn't contribute whatsoever to the injury. I find that really hard to believe. Is that same here? I find that really hard to believe. I do think during this eight weeks, I don't think the organization is going to say it,

but I do think in this eight weeks, Zion will do all that he can to shed some of that weight because I think that's going to be the factor in if he becomes an elite player in his league if he keeps his weight down, his conditioning up. And so I understand the organization that's going to say what they have to say, but I'm just not buying it right now. By the way, once the season starts, rookies lose weight. I mean, it's a 6,000 calorie burn a night. Then you go to sleep in a plane.

You know, I mean, it is hard to keep weight on during a season. I just, you know, he's a big kid. Weight's going to be some people. Weight just is easier to put on than other people. He's just a big strong kid. Yeah, he is. And like you mentioned, the way that he plays. Like it was so much torque and so much force, so much power.

It's similar to Derek Rose. The way Derek Rose is to jump and leap, you can just see, you know, look at his ankles and you look at his calves explode once he takes off. That's the kind of force design puts on top of a 275-pound frame. Clay Thompson out for the year. you know, it really changes everything to me because I kind of felt like, listen, once you give me the three guards together,

DeAngelo, Clay, Steph, they don't have much of a bench, but now this is going to put more minutes throughout the course of the year because they don't have a bench. I mean, Willie Colley Steins your bench. And then it's kind of borderline NBA guys. This changes it for me.

I don't feel the same way this morning knowing this is the roster. There's no bench and Clay's not coming back. I mean, are they a playoff team, Chris? So I say I got a little quick story. So it was during the preseason, last week, Lakers Warriors, I went up to a Warriors personnel. I'm not going to mention the position, but I went to the war's personnel. And I was just looking at, you know, the guys they had shooting around.

I was like, you know what? I think I got you guys probably finishing around 4th in the West. That individual said, fourth, I'll take it. I'll take it. I was a little surprise, taking back. You know, I've covered this team extensively, you know, extensively. the last three or four years and, you know, it's championship or bust with them.

Right. And so, but now I'm looking at it, you know, the way they play without Stefan Curry in that game, they got blew out by a leg because it believes it's something like around 40. Yeah. I'm thinking around seven or eight C right now. Because Steph, he has to stay healthy to even give them a chance to be in playoff contention.

And we know the injuries that he's had. Yeah, I mean, they just, they don't have a bench. And, you know, it's funny. When they, when they acquired Dan, Angelo Russell, I defended it. And my takeaway was, yeah, they could have gotten like two guys, right? But DiAngelo is an easy piece to trade. Yeah.

Right? And you've won all these championships, so you've bought equity with the fans. But I look at this now, and I'm like, I don't think they move him. I think they keep him. I think this is a limited team. I think this is a team with no bench. Cross your fingers that Willie Colley Stein and Steph stay healthy. It could be a non-playoff team, though.

If they have an injury, they're an injury away from a non-playoff team. particularly a Stefan Curry injury away from a non-playoff team. And you talk about the bench, Colin, their bench has always been pretty much weak. They've just been top-heavy. Now they're not top-heavy. And the bench is still, probably even borderline worse than what it was in the previous years. I said this. You know, everybody's telling me they love parity and competitive balance.

And I'm like, you know what? This whole league, my whole live, I've been watching the NBA since the 70s. I like dynasties. And all the great players, Dirk Novitsky is one of the few that didn't play in a dynasty. Most of my favorite players, the magics, the Michaels, the Larry Birds, they played on dynasties. Competitive balance is fine, but I want great. I do believe the Clippers have a chance to be suffocating on defense with Kauai, arguably the best player in the league, with incredible depth. I think, now, again, load management, we're getting 65 games from Paul.

But I do think there's a chance. The Clippers, by April, they're a prohibitive favorite to win the championship. Buy it? No, I'll buy it. I'll buy it as a right now. They're my favorites to win the championship. But I will say this. I like the Los Angeles Lakers, too.

The reason I say that, I know it was the preseason. I'm talking about that Lakers Warriors game last week. But, Colin, I saw Lyft that I haven't seen. I know. I don't know if it's ever. They had LeBron James at the point, Avery Bradley at the two, Danny Green,

Anthony Davis, and Javelle McGee. That's not even taking into consideration when Kyle Kuzma come back. All that lift on the floor? Versatility at those positions, those wing position in particular. The only thing I want to see

if the Lakers have enough sharp shooters, aside from that, I think they're going to be right there. But no, I think right now, Clippers is my favorite. You know, it's interesting. What do you make of the Lakers age? Kuzma's the only young legs.

Doesn't that worry? It does. It does. LeBron James still looks spry, though. Like, he looks good. I think the Los Angeles Lakers, they know they have about a two, maybe a three-year window. That's what it feels like to me.

It's a really great two-year window. It's a good two-year window, pushing it if it gets to three. But that's all you can ask for. And I think that's what they're shooting for. And you look at those clippers. right there, you know, arguably they're probably the deepest team in the league from top to bottom.

There's pretty, they don't have weaknesses. You know, maybe they need a sharp shooter or two, but pretty much, you know, these two squads don't have weaknesses. I would be very surprised if we don't have an all-L.A. Western Conference finals when it's all said. All right. I do think Utah, Denver,

interesting. Michael Jordan was talking about Steph Curry. I want to play the tape. This is the great Michael Jordan. Many can perceive him to be the goat. By the way, Always, always the handsome, well-dressed Michael Jordan. Recent interview here he goes talking about Steph Curry. So Steph Curry shouldn't be offended when he watches.

I hope not. He's still a great player. Not a Hall of Fame yet, though. Oh, boy. Oh, brother. I feel like he's a Hall of Famer, isn't he? I think Michael Jordan meant. I don't think it was like, I think he's not a Hall of Famer yet,

meaning that his career is not over. He hasn't reached, he hasn't been inducted into the Hall of Fame. I think that's what Michael Jordan meant. Oh, I didn't, that's funny. That's a different way to look through the telescope. So you'd think he just, he's not a Hall of Fame. Oh, I see. So you're basically saying is it wasn't a slight.

No, it wasn't a slight. That's how, look, Ms. Michael Jordan, he, great basketball IQ. He knows what players are a Hall of Fame. But I think he's saying that ain't a thing. I'm pretty sure I know what he's saying. He's not a Hall of Fame yet. He has, his career is not done. He's not in there.

Yeah, guys like you and me have to retire before they vote us into Hall of Fame. Yeah. We're not in a Hall of Fame yet, call it. You know what I? You know, maybe 20 years from now. We're not there yet. Do you buy that? So he's just saying he literally isn't in the Hall of Fame yet.

He's physically not in the Hall of Fame yet. He hasn't been inducted in all right. But I mean, like we know that. That's what he's saying. You can't talk about the greatest players until they're in the Hall of Fame. He probably would say the same thing about LeBron Jones. But he will be in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, he will be.

Yes, he will be. But it isn't right now. So it's without question that he will be in the Hall of Fame. It is. But right now, you can. can't say he's a Hall of Fame player. Right. You literally, like we literally can't say, factually, Tom Brady

is not in the Hall of Fame. That's true. You can't call him a Hall of Fame. It's not a Hall of Fameer yet. Right. So we call him a future Hall of Fame. Future Hall of Fame. That's, but you know, Jordan. He's not going to give you that nudge until you officially been put, you know,

in that class. I'm a Jordan zealot. I'm just saying. He knew what he was said. He knew what he was saying. Listen, Michael is very smart. Never forget with us, China NBA thing, Michael never commented. You ever noticed that? Like Michael's like, Michael's figured it out. Why would I rush to Twitter and get in trouble? I got business all

over China. Michael's always just a step smarter than everybody else. Chris, great seeing you. Thank you, guy. You got Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. We love Michael. You're the go. You can say whatever you want. Yeah. Yeah. By the way, Jordan is

without, people think I don't like Michael Jordan. Michael's great. There's some things I don't like about him. He's the best dressed professional athlete ever. He literally, I've never seen Michael Jordan during an interview and not thought he is the definition of elegant. Some guys are well dressed. I can wear a suit. I've never been elegant in my life. Michael's elegant.

I think he's just so cool that he can pull everything off. Yeah. That's how it is. So Sam Darnold was miced up inexplicably during his unfortunate performance against the Patriots last night, a clip of him saying that he was seeing ghost. made the broadcast and Adam Gace made it known that he and the Jets organization are not happy about it. Bad. Yeah, I think we're going to, we'll be looking into that pretty hard.

That was one of those things that was really disappointed to hear about after the game. I don't know if I've ever seen that where, you know, somebody that was miced up was basically, you know, a comment like that was allowed to be aired. It bothers me. It bothers the organization. I mean, obviously we're going to be looking hard into, you know, our cooperation going forward. Nobody has any, I certainly, I won't say nobody, I certainly don't have any sympathy for the

Jets in the spot. There's no way the NFL forced them to mic up Sam Darnel. And don't blame, don't blame the network I used to work for. They're going to push for access. We all push for access. You have a right to say no, but we have to ask the question, can we mic guys during games? And guess what? If you say no, no one gets offended because we understand why.

We're just happy if you say yes, because it's good for us. You and I ask questions for athletes for years before we got into this. this hosting thing. Athletes don't have to answer my questions. I don't think you and I were ever offended. I asked you questions. I was a producer and you called a book someone. They say they don't even respond.

I'm not offended. There's no obligation to do any of this. Nobody said you have to do Sam Darnold. Now, if it comes out with the NFL told the Jets they must mic up Sam Darnold, then sure, okay, that's a different conversation. But I'm going to assume that didn't happen. They were given the option of who to mic up. And I hear what he already saying, well, usually when you play like the miced-up

sound, it's just really just a guy yelling. Like they don't ever even play anything that's interesting. Well, maybe they don't say anything interesting because they know they're miced up. Right. So this is a situation where it's your young quarterback going up against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, one of the best defenses we've ever seen them have. And you're going to mic him up in the back of your mind. And use the video in real time.

It's not even like a month later. Like during the game, you're airing it. We know we're miced up because this is what we do every day. Right. We're not also playing a football game while we're hosting a show. Like, it's in your mind that you're mic'd. up. Everyone around you knows that you're miced up. It doesn't make any sense.

So to blame the network, blame yourselves. You had the choice. How could you not see this coming? I don't have any sympathy for them in the spot. I have sympathy for Sam Darnold because he should never have been put in that position. And he's probably just trying to do whatever he can to make everyone happy. And that was a mistake. But it's no one's fault but the Jets organization.

So Clay Thompson is recovering from a torn ACL. He suffered during game six of the NBA finals. There was some hope that he'd be able to return later in the season, but Steve Kerr's being a little more realistic. By the timeline, he said it's unlikely that he's going to play this year. So we have to understand that. Generally, an ACL for basketball player is a full year recovery. And if it's a full year for Clay, that puts him out for the season.

While this appears to be news, I never really thought that Clay was going to make it back. If it was, it was going to be very, very late in the season. And ACL does generally take a full year to come back from. I don't like watching. And he had a surgery on July 2nd. I don't like watching this. It's rough. Zach Levine sat out for 11 months with a similar injury,

and Jabari Parker missed nearly a year twice with torn ACL. So it's, I mean, everyone has a different timeline and their body feels better whenever it feels better, but it generally takes a year to come back from it. And the Warriors are not going to rush Clay back or rush anyone back after what happened to KD. So we should assume that they won't have Clay, and since that is the case, they're going to have DeAngelo Russell for the entire season because it kind of felt like they brought him in, and then once Clay comes back, they're going to have a big trade piece,

but they can't really trade him if they don't have clay. So Warriors are going to be very interesting this year. Finally, we all know LA is a Lakers town. The franchise has 16 NBA titles to prove it. But five were actually won when the team was in Minneapolis, and L.A. claiming all of them is something that Doc Rivers has a problem with. He said, it's a Lakers town. I'm good with that. I have no issues with that.

They have how many titles that they've won here? You know, they claim them all, but they only want a source. certain amount here. I will say that. That actually bugs me a little bit. Yeah, is it really fair for the Dodgers to claim the Brooklyn Dodgers Championships? Not really. You've got to say the Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers.

You can't add the Brooklyn Dodgers. Lakers fans would disagree with this because they do boast all of their of the Lakers titles. I'm not a big fan of that. I kind of feel what he's saying. I mean, he's being a little petty here and it's going to be the battle for

LA all season long with these teams, which is going to be, I mean, we're in L.A., so I mean, I'm not a Lakers fan or a Copers fan. Look at that video. Are you really going to count that? Set shots? What a shot. I mean, well, the L.A. Rams can't count Kurt Warner Super Bowl, right? We know that, right? That's Kurt Warner's St. Louis Super Bowl. The Rams are going to say, L.A. Rams are going to say, Super Bowl. That's kind of interesting. I don't think that they do. I think the Lakers are. But these are so long ago, they've been saying it for so long. It's kind of just been lumped together. The Lakers are above counting set shot black and white video.

I don't think they are. I think Lakers fans claim all of these titles fully and completely and do not specify which ones were won in Minneapolis. Do they win a bunch of championships before they moved to Atlanta? Is Atlanta counting those? I don't know. I mean, Doc Rivers does make a point. I'm not going to sit there and dissect all of it. I side with Doc.

I think I side with Doc also. It doesn't take anything away. They still have, you know, Clippers still have. no championships and the Lakers have a bunch. I don't count my 10 years of greatness at the other place. I don't even though it was a maze balls, I don't even count it. I claim all of my accomplishments no matter where they were. But I feel what he's saying.

It's just we're going to get this all season long. It's already happening around L.A. Clippers fans are claiming they're going to take over. Lakers fans keep calling them a stepbrother or would Snoop call them the adopted brother. Yes. Yeah, that's going to go on all season long. Are you getting a journalism? Oh, Lord.

I'm getting journalism. now. What is it? Nothing, no big deal. Every time. Listen, when you're a journalist, stuff happens on the clock. Hold on. This is what he does. Collin will get a text from someone during the show, a text or a DM, and Colin will read it during the show, and then he will react to

it, and then say that he has some big news, and then he will say, I can't say it because I haven't sourced it, or I can't say it because I don't want to burn the source. I just wish Bella check would stop texting me during the show. God, it's such a burden. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Ly news. By the way, speaking of Brady, Adam Schaefter says Tom Brady could leave the Patriots. Last night he was talking about, you know, there's no sound, we don't have any sound for this, but he was basically saying he put his house up for sale, and his trainer put his house up for sale. Timeout.

It's a $35 million home in the Boston suburbs. In L.A., they sell $70 million homes. Okay? This is the suburb. This is Wusta in Boston. You can't sell a $35 million home. There's like two buyers in the whole state. You've got to put that thing up if you want to sell it in five years.

You don't sell that. In L.A., you know, we've got international investors hovering all over the town. Tom Brady's not leaving New England. Now, if he did, he'd have his choice of places to go. You don't think the Colts would take him with all those players? You don't think the Chicago Bears right now would say Mitch Trubisky, see you later. Brady come in. LA Chargers need to sell tickets with that roster.

You know, Jared Stidham is all they got in the tank if Brady left. So Tom's got some leverage. But this is, Giselle and Tom Brady, supermodels do not retire in Wusta Mass. They were never going to retire here. Okay? That's not where supermodels retire. She owns half of Brazil. They're not retiring in Wusta.

You know, next to Red Sox fans, Tommy Boy. I'd be a seating ticket holding for the Swarks for like 27 years. Knock, knock on the door. You guys want to talk socks, Giselle. I want to talk Swox baseball. That's not who, they're not going to retire there. So he's putting his houses up for sale because when he gets out of football in three years, they'll have sold the house.

Come on, Schifty. Not leaving. What do you think he's going to go down and play for Jacksonville or something? It's Tom Brady. All right. Coming on what I got next. Oh, Tom Perducci, World Series. Game 1 starts tonight. Astros, Nat, Tom Verducci, Best Baseball Writer on the planet, stops by next.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. All right, Game 1 of the World Series tonight, 730 Eastern only on Fox. I don't remember pitching matchups ever in my life. Max Scherzer against Garrett Cole, Strasbourg, Justin Verland, or then Zach Granky, who Houston got out of the trading deadline against Patrick Corby, and he's 14 and 7, a lefty. Tom Verduci's joining us. Game 1 tonight via the Coward Global Satellite Network. But I want to start with this, Tom, and I don't want to pick on Bryce Harper.

He's a great kid. I've met him and his dad. I love him. But Washington got better when he left, and Philadelphia struggled, some of it injuries. Could I make the argument? You wrote a book 10 years ago, and you talked to Joe Tori about this in your book about managing expectations and stars. Washington looks looser without him.

I mean, that's just what I'm seeing on television, Tom. Is that fair to say? No, that's fair. But listen, Colin, I would never make the argument that I don't want talent. And Bryce is an incredible talent. He had one of the best clutch-hitting seasons of anybody in 2019. That's really not the problem. I like the point that you made, though,

because the nationals, when they couldn't get out of the first round every year, always went in as the heavy favorite. That was not the case this year. They got hot at the right time down the stretch, came into the postseason, people thinking, maybe the Cardinals, the Braves, they'll knock them off, the Dodgers are coming out of the National League. No one was really saying that nationals have to win

the way that we did in other years. And this team loves being in that position. And now they're hearing it again for the World Series. You know, and I'm happy for the Nats because I think they've been too talented not to get to a World Series. Houston, meanwhile, is in the middle of one of these, and I think it is the middle of it.

They're going to have to start paying guys, but a little mini dynasty here. They've got stars. They've got veterans. They've got money. They've got a farm system. Those guys have hit. Jose Al Tuve is an incredible player. Talk a little bit about him.

He's become, it feels like to me, the best clutch hitter in the game with that tiny little strike zone. His story is remarkable. They didn't know he was going to be this good, right? No, not at all. I mean, the famous story, of course, is he showed up at a free agent tryout camp. and they told him don't come back tomorrow and he said why they said you're too small well he went home and his dad said you're going back there and he went back there to the next day and yeah they did sign him they gave him the great sum of 15,000 dollars to sign that's the best 15 grand any team ever

invested but he's got an incredible motor this is what I love about the Houston Astros Colin in sports today the hardest thing is to keep teams that win hungry right complacency is the worst virus of all you saw that with the cubs you saw that with the cubs you saw that with the Red Sox. It does not happen with this use of Astros team. It's because of people like Altuve, because of people like Bregman. This team, as A.J. Hinch, the manager said, loves the expectation of winning. I think the motor of Jose Altuve has a lot to do that. As far as his hitting goes, we know the game now is a launch angle game, right? And the way to combat that pitching-wise is throw the high fastball. Well, guess who the best high fastball hitter is in the big leagues?

It's Jose Al-Tube. So the way the game has flipped, actually, has flipped. towards his strength, and he's as good as anybody, not just getting base hits, but home runs on pitches up in the strike zone. Watch that tonight against Scher, by the way. Max will try that four seamer up on Jose Al-Tube, but you better be careful make sure it's up out of the strike zone. It does on paper. I mean, it's fairly obvious. These are going to be low scoring games. You know, is there, Houston, when I watched Houston play the Yankees, Houston fielded better, ran the bases better. Houston was a better team than the Yankees. I don't think, I mean, I think they'd been the best team in baseball two or three years.

But when you look on paper here, does Houston feel better than Washington? Is their starting pitching better? This actually feels, I actually think Washington's got a shot here. Your thoughts? Oh, they've got a shot without question. Very different team than the Yankees because they can win some games with their base running and their ability to put the ball in play. They don't have the home run power the Yankees had,

but I think they can match up with the Astros and some of the finer points of the game. So if we're talking about low-scoring games, and I agree with you with this kind of starting pitching, it's hard to believe we're going to get a lot of runs in this series. So the small things come more into play. So yes, I think the Nationals have a shot here. If they happen to steal game one, look out. Because the Astros need to win game one with Garrett Cole on the mound.

He has not lost the game since May the 22nd. We are talking about an all-time great run of pitching what we've seen from Garrett Cole, the greatest strikeout rate in the history of the game. You send him to the mound, and I don't care who's on the other side. The Astros feel like we need to win this game because this is Garrett Cole. That's how good he's been lately. By the way, the Dodgers bullpen was questionable all year. It was their undoing, and the Yankees starting pitching was not a strength when you matched

it up against Houston. I don't think the Yankees are Dodgers underachieved. I think we have the two best teams. When you look at the Yankees, and I mean it's the Yankees, it's the Lakers, It's the Cowboys. There's a lot of discussion. But, I mean, I don't see the Yankee season as a disappointment. I think their issues, like most issues in baseball,

rear their head in the ALCS and LCS. Your thoughts on the Yankee season. I agree. It was a great season for the Yankees. The worst thing about the Yankee season was the Houston Astros. They're just a better team. Now, they came close to extending that to a seventh game and who knows what happens, but they ran into the best team in the league.

So it's a case where they, I don't. think there's a lot of faults with the Yankees. I know people are going to say they need better starting pitching. In a perfect world, everybody does. But I do think the problem right now, actually the last three times Houston has knocked them out of the postseason when they've matched head to head is strictly the Houston Astros. Now, there's some things they're going to have to figure out. I thought the defense and hitting of Gary Sanchez in the postseason really hurt them. You know, in the postseason, Colin, there is so much responsibility that is put on the catcher. We know about the paranoia with science dealing. We know about all the people.

pitching changes. We know about how every 90 feet is contested like it's a battlefield, right? There's a lot on a catcher. Gary Sanchez has a hard time handling that, focusing every pitch, blocking balls, and you saw that bleed into his offense. He's a great hitter, but the Yankees didn't see that bat in the postseason. Tom Verducci tonight, 730 Eastern, only on Fox game one of the series, classic pitching matchups. Tomazzoas, you look like a million bucks. Listen, you're already quaffed. It's hours before the game. Thanks, buddy. you got it, buddy. Thanks a lot.

All right, Tom Verducci, who, by the way, is going to be doing some college football features at this network as well. Super talented guy. Good for him, four-time Emmy Award winner. But for the record, by the way, you know what our, we always say there's three words about the NFL that solve everything. Just win Sunday. Cowboys are four and three, first place, finally healthy.

And this morning, Philadelphia is officially a tire fire. So after the loss, Lane Johnson, offensive lineman, who just talks too much? Lane Johnson came out and said, guys are missing practice, guys are late, blah, blah, blah. Donovan McNabb then responded, saying, you should never say that. You do not, those are private conversations that should never be public. Then add this, ESPN's Josina Anderson reported that an anonymous Eagle source, complaint about Carson Wentz saying, quote, we got to simplify the offense for the kid.

He's overwhelmed. Howard Eskin, who's a popular Philadelphia media person, the article says here, Eskin, a pseudo-team employee who works for the Eagles and has a Super Bowl ring. That's cool. Appeared on a radio station and reported the Eagles wideout Al-Shon Jeffrey was the source for Josina Anderson's reports last week. I'm sure that's a wonderful locker room today. So the Cowboys just win Sunday, four and three, first place, finally healthy, and the Eagles are a mess.

It's amazing. It's just go out and win games. I mean, look at the Jets today. They lose. Sam Darnold's atrocious. They let him get mic'd up in his man overboard. You could have all those ghost comments by Sam Darnold. You beat the Patriots last night?

The Jets were a different franchise. They feel like a different franchise. So that's why, you know, Belichick just goes out, win Sunday. Don't worry about it. Don't look ahead. For the record, bring that down. I can't see it. Oh, how about this?

We have breaking news. Breaking news. Denver is dealing wide receiver, Emmanuel Sanders, and a fifth round pick to the 49ers in exchange for a couple of picks. Mohamed Sunu now goes to the New England Patriots. that was earlier, and Emmanuel Sanders is going to the 49ers who drafted a couple of wide receivers, but they're kids, and they want a veteran. They want to get a veteran in.

They have Pantus, Hurd, Sanders, it was a Goodwin, and there's a kid from South Carolina. Yeah, Debo Samuel. Holy Lord, they got a lot of talent. San Francisco. They got a lot of players. Got plans this weekend. Be prepared. Windshield wipers you can trust.

Michelin, Endurance, XT, Silicon, Wiper Blades last two times longer. Get them at Walmart only. The herd. 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 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 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 Acapella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart 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

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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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an I-Hart podcast. Guaranteed Human.