The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Sam Darnold, NFC Championship Game rematch, Thursday Night Football- Bucs/Panthers

Episode Date: September 12, 2019

Colin reacts to Sam Darnold's illness and says the Patriots have already wrapped up the division just one week into the season.  Listen as Colin explains why the Rams will beat the Saints in a rematch of the NFC Championship Game and tells you which Week 1 losses are of no concern to him.  Guests: FOX Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb, NFL Film's Greg Cosell, FOX Sports Radio host Rob Parker, former NFL HC Jeff Fisher! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One hour from now, Greg Kosell, as good as any segment we do on this show. Our NFL meat sandwich, one hour from now, NFL films 40 years. Greg Kosell. Joy Taylor is joining me, and we've got news this morning, Joy, NFL game tonight, Carolina, Tampa, but news this morning. It's, uh, I would say, it's unbelievable, but it's the AFC East.

It is believable. Yes. The Patriots have clinched the AFC East. Sam Darnold is out for Monday Night Football against the Browns and Baker-Mainfield. First of all, in a personal note, I'm bummed out. I'm bummed out. I wanted to watch the game. It was Vegas has it a two, three-point game.

I thought Cleveland would probably win it, but it would be close. It would be fun. These two guys, you know, I think Baker's good, but he turns me off with all the personal stuff. And Darnold, I love him. I think he's a great kid. Not Mahom's talented, but a great kid. So I wanted to watch this game.

Donald's got mono. He's out. He's not only out now. He's out for several weeks. It's contagious. They don't want them around the team. It's out. And it bums me out personally because I couldn't wait for the game.

This was going to be Donald Baker. I was going to have a huge Tuesday rating because you're all going to come in if Baker won and crush me. And if Donald won, I was going to crush you. I'm so excited for it. And it's done. Now, I want to say this. Over half the playoff teams last year in the NFL lost week one. So week one, you can lose week one.

It doesn't mean anything. So when a team goes 0-1, who cares, right? Like over half the playoff teams, four division winners last year, lost in week one. But I will tell you, the jet season today is over at O and 1. It's over. First of all, their schedule is brutal. Now they're going to a backup. This is a wildly dysfunctional organization to begin with.

Season's over. They will go 1 in 5 or 0 and 6. Over the next, they're going to lose now. Cleveland's going to crush them. They're going to lose at New England. they're going to lose at Philly. They're going to lose to Dallas. They're going to lose to New England again.

It's 0 and 6. 1 in 5 at best. Season's over for the Jets. When Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield came into this league and Joy is my witness, I said they're going to have to overcome dysfunction. And Baker, I said, may be undone, unraveled by his organization. Well, Baker's already on his second head coach. I don't think any of you think Freddie Kitchens is going to be Baker's

Belichick. They've already got a GM who gave away their second best offensive lineman, and the Brown's offensive line was overwhelmed in week one against Tennessee. So it looks like Baker's going to have to overcome a rookie head coach who's over his skis and an offensive line that is bottom five in the National Football League. Sam Darnold now is on his second coach and his second general manager. In the draft, the previous general manager had two jobs, figure out cornering. and figure out receiver. They didn't address either one of them. Then they whiffed on their third pick,

their first pick in the third round. He's a head case. He's already been cut. They had a really good kicker last year. They released him. They had a wide receiver who couldn't stay healthy. They gave him an extension. He's out for the year.

The four highest paid players, MRI for Lavian Bell. The receiver's out for the year. Leonard Williams has a groin issue. Sam Darnold got mono. They've got to keep him away from the troops for probably 10 to 14 days. Season's over. But ask yourself this. Of the five quarterbacks taken, two years ago in the first round,

who's winning games? The last one picked. Lamar Jackson. Why? Part of it's because when you get picked at the end of the first round, you go to a better team. The Patriots, the Ravens, the Steelers, the Red. Lamar Jackson, elite head coach, elite organization, stable GM, stable roster. Look at how well the Ravens have put things around Lamar Jackson.

and they got him tight ends, they got him receivers, they got the O line. That's why Lamar's winning. That's nothing against Lamar Jackson. But this is what I said about Baker and Sam Darnold. When you get drafted in the top 10, look what Josh Rosen's already faced. Arizona and Miami, his career is almost done. He not even played really more than a full season yet. So Sam Darnold's out Monday.

Jet season's done. Baker will win. Good for him one and one. That schedule is rough, though. But remember, Michael Johnson. Jordan and LeBron James are the two best basketball players I've ever seen in my life. This is the NBA where over half the teams make the playoffs. This is the NBA where an individual player can carry you between the two best basketball

players ever because of the dysfunction they inherited in the NBA. It took a combined five years to even win a playoff series. This is a league where half the league makes it. LeBron and Michael. Michael, the first three years, struggling, playoff. LeBron didn't even make the playoffs for the first two years because they had to overcome the bad owner, the bad GM, the bad roster, the wrong coach. And that's in basketball.

In football, you can be great, Andrew Luck. What are you going to do with a bad GM, an impulsive owner? The wrong coach. No O-line. So Monday's game, which was going to be so much fun for all of us, Cleveland wins. They're one-in-one. It'll be a blowout. And the Jets, Sam, I thought Baker was going to have to overcome a lot of dysfunction in Cleveland. Look at what Sam's already having to deal with. It's a mess.

I mean, and now Sam's sick and done, season over for the Jets. And I'm not one of these people that is, oh, my God, because I actually believe a lot of O and one teams are really pretty good. I think Carolina lost didn't hurt him, Chicago, Steelers, it don't matter. Adam Gase this morning, he knows the season's over. Pretty somber making the announcement. And then 14 has mono and we'll be out for this game. So Trevor will be starting. And Luke Falk will get elevated at some point and be the backup.

Yeah. Jets, week two, season. over. Baker and Sam are both going to have to overcome a lot of dysfunction. Lamar Jackson, he's 1-0, made the playoffs last year. They looked like the best team in their division.

We're all vulnerable to what we inherit in life. Story number two, big game this weekend, Rams hosting the Saints. Of course, last year they met in the playoffs, controversial ending. New Orleans hasn't stopped

complaining about it. I thought it was very interesting to listen to Sean McVeigh talk about last year's call, and then one of his players talk about it. They play this weekend. Here is Sean McVeigh talking about that call last year and the game coming up. Obviously, nobody's going to sit here and say that that wasn't a pass interference, and that's why it led to some rules being changed. And I think everybody, even though that played benefited our team, nobody wants anything but

a fair game. And, you know, those clear and obvious plays that we can avoid, we want to be able to do that. And that's exactly how we feel as a team too. That's coach speak. But players tend to keep it real. Keep it 100. So here is my quote of the year from Akeeb Taleb. Here's how he sees last year. That's a New Orleans problem. It's not an L.A. problem. That's a New Orleans problem. That's not an L.A. problem. And here's the other problem. L.A. was the better team last year.

That's why they won. Yeah. Yeah. Did you see the stats last year? Who had more yards in that game? Rams. Who won time of possession? Rams. Who was a better team in overtime?

Rams. Who had more sacks? Rams. Who had more tackles for losses? Rams. Which defensive line was more dominating? Rams. Who had better coaching in overtime?

Rams. I know New Orleans, you still want to whine about that thing? Rams are the better team. The Rams outscored the Saints in the fourth quarter and overtime. I don't know if you paid attention to football the last, I don't know, 100 years. If I outscore you in the fourth quarter and overtime, I'm going to win every single time. And that's what the Rams did. The Rams upgraded after a bad first quarter.

They adapted well. They modified things. They regulated stuff. They were the better coach team. Rams were the better team, regardless of this call. And as Akib Talib said, that's a New Orleans problem. That is not an L.A. problem. And the Rams will be the better team on Sunday and win on Sunday and win again on Sunday.

And they're going to win again and again because the Rams are better than the Saints. We have made so much. You live in L.A. So I picked a Patriots in the Super Bowl over L.A. You know, I didn't think the Chargers were going to end up in the Super Bowl. I live in L.A. I don't think the Lakers with LeBron are going to be great this year. I live in L.A.

USC football I've been banging on for three years. I live in L.A. I don't think the Dodgers are going to beat Houston or the Yankees in the World Series. I live in L.A. It doesn't matter if I live in L.A. Rams are better than the Saints, and they were better last year than the Saints. and I can't watch them to play on Fox Sunday in the game of the week. Coming up next, there was a really, really strange press conference yesterday in the NFL.

And man, if I'm a fan of this team, I have, this is a good team. I've got huge concerns. Plus Doug Gottlieb this hour coming up. Before you end all your travel, you still have, and this is the business time, right? September. October, November, December, and January. This is big-time business travel, okay? I got my aluminum carry-on from away luggage.

Travel sites are raving about this. Every suitcase has a hidden removable laundry bag, dirty, clean, separated. TSA-approved lock, four spinner wheels, no sound in the airport. Carry-on perfectly sized. Dwayne Wade's got some designs for this luggage, away luggage. They have a special offer. go to awaytravel.com slash Colin, 20 bucks off, promo code calling at checkout.

Travel with your away suitcase for 100 days. If you don't love it, return it. No questions asked. 20 bucks off, promo code Colin at awaytravel.com. Awaytravel.com. The away luggage is spectacular, quiet, perfectly sized, dirty and clean clothes separated. They also have a TSA-approved battery you can order. You never get stuck at the airport with a dead phone, which is always a headache.

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Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back, Doug Gottlie, have been 10 minutes. So this is a strange press conference. Now, the Chicago Bears last year were a very good team. I had predicted, Vegas predicted, I predicted they were going to pull back. They were one of the teams I said, they'll be fine because I like their coach.

I love their defense. I think they have a very smart young general manager. But this is one of the obvious teams. San Francisco is obviously going to be way better and Chicago is not going to be nearly as good. These were easy predictions to make. I said San Francisco, double their wins, bank it. Chicago, they're going to be closer to eight and eight and nine wins, not 13, not 12. So I'm not taking credit for something.

A lot of people saw this. Every smart person I know in the league said they're coming back down to earth. All my Vegas guys, my soror. nobody thought Chicago was going to duplicate last year. In fact, I picked Green Bay to win the division. I'm not sure Chicago's a playoff team. I think they'll be close. But this is troubling.

And one of my, I think the primary issue I have with Chicago is, I wouldn't have in the draft in Mitch Trubisky. I didn't like him in college. I think he's a nice kid. I think he's an alpha. I think he's a guy's a good kid. I'm not building my franchise around him. I think he's got a very, very limited upside.

But this is troubling. So they lost in week one to Green Bay. Yesterday they hold a press conference. They bring out a PR person to stand next to him to make sure he doesn't say anything they don't want him to say. Can you walk us through just kind of everything you're evaluating when you're deciding whether to give it or keep it for a thrift? No, I was telling not to talk about the last game. Was it Adam and told you or somebody else? I was Adam amongst other people that were moving on.

The Cowboys let Dax say whatever he wants. Patrick Mahomes, commercials, talk shows, this show, that show says whatever he wants. Deshawn Watson, freedom behind the mic, freedom on the field. This is the third year for Mitch Trubisky. It's not a rookie. Like, I get protecting rookies. The Baltimore Ravens protected Lamar Jackson last year, and they'll probably still, to some degree, protect him a little this year. This is year three.

You've got to take the training wheels off. I mean, the Dallas Cowboys keep telling you they trust Dak. They put him in commercials. They put him in front of the mic. They give him opinions on the anthem controversy two years ago. They give him he can have opinions on Ezekiel Elliott. They give him phone numbers for people in the organization. He can call people.

He can talk. The Cowboys keep telling you, we trust Dak. The Bears are telling you we don't trust Mitch, on the field or off it. And by the way, I've heard he's a good guy. guy. He's a likable guy. He's a guy's guy's. He's a hell of an athlete. He can move around. He reminds me a little bit of a poor man's Jimmy Garoppolo. I think he's more athletic, not the thrower. But teams tell you what they think of their quarterback without saying it. Kirk Cousins threw 10 passes last week. Well, they had a big lead. Tom Brady's had big leads his

entire career. He still throws it 29 to 34 times. The Rams have big leads. all the time. Gough throws it 25 times. Kirk Cousins threw the ball 10 times last week. The Vikings are telling you what they think about Kirk Cousins without saying it. And when I watch that press conference, that is the Bears telling you how much they trust

Trubisky. Because I watch the games. You know, he's got the headset. He's getting every play. They're telling him, don't audible. Matt calls the plays. Listen to Matt. Which I get for rookie quarterbacks, young quarterbacks. But that that's not

watch what the Cowboys allow Dak Prescott to do and say that tells you what they think about Dak Prescott. They trust Dak. This team doesn't trust Trubisky. Join with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. They probably should have told him after they told him not to say anything, not to say anything, not to say anything. Just say no comment. Just say no comment. And don't tell that we said say no comment. By the way, Brady yesterday, Somebody asked him about A, B, he goes, no comment.

And then somebody asked him and he said, I thought I just said that. Like, you trust, Tom had a very controversial story to talk about. They just sent Tom up there. I mean, I don't want to hold Shabrisky to Brady standards. But, yeah, you generally don't say, they said don't say anything. So the Packers pulled out a 10-3 win against the Bears on Thursday, despite only having 213 yards of total offense. Aaron Rogers said Wednesday that it wasn't as bad as it looked.

And his teammate, Devante Adams, seized plenty of room for improvements. I mean, it's nowhere but up, honestly. I guess I came out, you know, not jump the gun, but I was a little optimistic, I guess you could say, which I don't even like to use optimistic because that sounds like there's a panic of some sort, which is not. But I was definitely excited for the offense, thought we were going to move the ball a little better than what we did, but, you know, we got plenty of time. And, you know, we're going to go out there.

We're handling things this week in practice to do it to make sure it looks how it needs on Sunday. Hey, listen, they won a division road game. I'm good with Green Bay Right now they're 1 and 0 I'm not good with Chicago O-on-1 headed to Denver Right

And not just a division rival That that defense was incredible And it's week one Best in the league New coach You won on the road That's all I care about I mean I get it

It's Aaron Rogers And it's a new coach And you know You want to see some High Flying excitement I guess I'm not going to act Like that was the most

exciting thriller of a game but you got the win. So who cares? There's nothing to freak out about. I feel like the Packers are going to take a major step up this year. I'm fully with you on the Bears and Trubisky and what I think of the Packers this year. But the bigger takeaway from that game was not what the offense is going to look like for the Packers this year. It's that they actually have a real defense.

Oh, yeah, it's good. Which is why you should believe and be afraid of the Packers this year. That division now has Minnesota's defense, top five. Bears may be the best. And I think Green Ray is a top 10 defense. So that defense, that may be the best defensive division in football now, Green Bay, Minnesota, Chicago. And that's what Aaron Rogers needed. For all this talk about Aaron Rogers not getting back to where he was before and getting them back to another Super Bowl,

like he can't do everything. He can't play both sides of the ball. So, you know, you're not going to beat them everyone on offense. You have to have a viable defense and they finally have one. So the Ravens take on the Cardinals this weekend. I'm very interested in this game. Kingsbury's air raid offense was supposed to bring something new to the NFL, but Ravens coach John Harbaugh doesn't think it's so groundbreaking.

He said a lot of those plays have been run. There's nothing really new in football. When you say revolutionary, it kind of revolves back in a sense. That's the difference between revolution and evolution, right? I love that. It's a very clever quote. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, in a lot of ways, he's right.

In most businesses, there's not that much that is new. When you have something that's very new, it tends to be a trend or a fad. Very rarely do you have something that is completely and utterly new coming from nowhere, and then it is a complete success. That's an outlier. Usually it's something that has spawned from another idea that either failed or that could be improved on. I remember when David Letterman came out and he was pretty groundbreaking, right? Because you had Johnny Carson was this kind of sto-o-a-you-know, the gentleman and David came out.

David Allen, and I love Letterman. Letterman was taking a lot of a guy named Steve Allen, quirky, weird bits. And Letterman, to his credit, was considered like, you know, like kind of a revolutionary talk show host. But if you go back and look at Letterman and talk to Letterman, he was taking bits from other people and putting his spin on him. To your point, the only thing that will make this offense revolutionary is Kyler Murray. If he's great, it'll work. If he's not, it won't. Well, also, that and Kyler Murray is not the prototypical quarterback.

So if he is successful, that's going to open up a whole new wave in the same way that Russell Wilson did and Baker Mayfield might. a whole new new type of quarterback that is generally not what you think of when you think of a quarterback body when you think of ben rothusberg or aaron rogers or tom brady like these are outlier athletes right so that's what will really be revolutionary or evolutionary as uh harbaud wants to put it funny finally the steelers are coming off a 30 point loss of the patriots in week one big ben reassured his teammates though that during practice they will be okay we're out doing our run and stuff and So you guys, look up. So the sun still shining, the sky still blue.

The best thing is we still get to play on Sunday. It's not like all of a sudden we have to go back to the drawing board and start doing this, just scratching everything, crossing everything out. Where do we go from here? It's just we all need to, starting with myself, play better. And it's nothing drastic on anybody's plate. It's just little things here, little things there. I don't think anyone should freak out about that Steelers' performance.

The only takeaway that I have from it was, well, One, they obviously weren't ready. And two, you know, I don't know how far they can go in the playoffs. I think they're going to be a great team this year. But I always felt like they were going to take a slight step back because you can't replace talents like Levy on Bell and Antonio Brown. And that to me is those small moments are the things that put you over the edge in the postseason. And that's where I think that they're lacking.

Precision. New England could have replaced Antonio Brown because New England did replace Randy Moss and won more without him. But when you're in a non-precision franchise, Pittsburgh, which is kind of an over-the-top, I mean, that's what they are. Their offense with Big Ben is not precision. He's not precise. Right.

So when you're a big-play offense and you lose your big-play receiver, it's problematic. Now, again, I think the Ram style, the Patriot style, they could win Super Bowls. I mean, like to be honest, Philadelphia won a Super Bowl. Al-Shon Jeffrey was their home run guy. But Pittsburgh's offense is a lot. a cleanup hitter. They're built on the home run. When Antonio Brown was their home run hitter, so it's very

reasonable to suspect it's going to take a while. And Leveon, too. Yes. To your point, I don't hold anybody to the Patriot standards because I think they're a complete outlier in all of sports. So I don't really like to compare other organizations to how they do things. But the Rams, kind of similar

in that they're an organization and a culture. And they have a system. And I think, and that's not a discredit to any the talent that's on those teams because they're obviously Tom Brady's the greatest ever. None of that system would work without Tom Brady. But the Steelers culture had a complete breakdown. Like you're rebuilding now as far as your culture and how your system works.

So that's my skepticism and takeaway from that game. Like, yeah, it's this week one. And they're going to be fine. They're winning in the ASC North. But that was a bad loss for the Steelers. Yeah. Well, the last two games they've played, Cincinnati last year and New England, they do not have big strike capability on the perimeter.

And that's what they are. That's not like part of their game. That's what's defined the Steelers in the last seven years. That over the top, big touchdown, which New England doesn't do a lot of. That's what Pittsburgh does better than anybody. And they're going to have to find a new way to win. They've got to find a new way. Yeah, Joy with News.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Doug Gottlieb show, Aftermind Fox Sports Radio. In fact, he has the Raiders tackle. Trent Brown, there are 1-0. Doug Gottlie. The Doug are joining us now.

So I know it's overly dramatic, Doug, to say, season over, but I think we both agree on this, that you're kind of as good in life as what you kind of inherit. You're right? If you're a trust fund kid, you can make a lot more mistakes than the average kid that grows up. I look at the Jets, and I think dysfunction, second head coach, Darnold's out, schedules brutal, they've got holes, they didn't address. I do think the season's over. Yeah, fired their general manager after the draft and after he signed Levi-on-Bel.

what could possibly go wrong there, right? And once again, the Patriots, the dolphins, the worst team in football, the Jets. You look at the Jets' upcoming schedule. Brutal. Brutal, and how you start generally tends to lead to how you finish. Yeah, this thing seems to be wrapped up. It's one of those things that has allowed LeBron James to go to all those seven finals or eight finals in a row. That's an interesting point.

Well, I mean, because, like, look, let's not take away from New England. let's not take away from LeBron, but if we paint the right context to it, like it wouldn't have happened for the Patriots in any other division. It wouldn't have happened for LeBron if he was in the West. See, I agree with this.

And I've said this. I love Brady. But getting a buy and a home game for all those years, instead of having to go to Denver, where, by the way, he's got a losing playoff record, like there's no question that the dysfunction of the AFC East

has taken what would be a dynasty and put like more icing and icing on the Brady Dynasty. I mean, there's no question about it. I mean, how many, I mean, and, I mean, even before this, you had, you have Buffalo with the second year quarterback, the Jets with the second year quarterback. You know, you get the most experienced quarterback in the league going against, you know, guys who are, you know, fresh out the NFL womb.

So, yeah, I mean, this is, look, this happens in all sports, though, right? Michigan State basketball. Tom Izzo, it might not have become the powerhouse it became, if not from Michigan going on probation. Mateen Cleaves is going to go to Michigan. There's an investigation during, because of, a car accident during his visit. He ends up going to Michigan State. Flintstone's National Championship. The rest is history. By the way, Pete Carroll dominated the PAC 12. Everybody else in the conference for four years until Harbaugh got to Stanford was complete dysfunction.

Everybody had the wrong coach. Pete owned recruiting for four years. I mean, so almost all dinas, by the way, Saban, LSU and Tennessee and Florida have been dysfunctional for most of the last 10 years. Right. And it'll, it allows the well-run, franchises to look even more well run, right? It allows them to, Oklahoma football in the Big 12, right? Like, Oklahoma football in the Big 12 has been great, but they've benefited from the fact that Texas has been dysfunctional. Yes.

Right? And so if your main competition is Oklahoma State or Iowa State or, you know, TCU, Oklahoma is going to win 90% of those battles because personnel-wise, they always have better personnel. So, Darnold's out, mono, C.J. Mosley may not play Leonard Williams, Hurt. They don't have a kicker because they released him even though he was great last year. They didn't address their needs in the draft. So the jets are a mess.

They're unraveling. Doug and I agree. It's over. Let's talk about Mitch Trubisky. You may have some insight on this. I'm not a Mitch Trubisky fan. I see an incredibly low ceiling. At least Lamar last year would give me the occasional throw where you're like, oh, he can whip it.

I just don't see it with Trubisky. Why do you think they moved? I mean, they had a press conference yesterday. They don't want to let him talk. Well, again, I think this. is an organizational thing. I mean, even he played the Ben Rathesberger thing. Like, Ben Rathsberger used to give us some meat, and he has been completely declawed. I mean, he has, you know, like they took all the claws. I just want to talk about the quarterback

position. We all got to get better. Let's not freak out. That's not Ben Rathesberger, is it? Right. So this has become a trend in that we get the dull, you know, with the exception of Aaron Rogers, who might say something. And Trubisky didn't play well. But what you have to remember, I heard you last week talk about the mistake that Chicago made. And it does. appear to be an obvious one in passing on Pat Mahomes and passing on to Sean Watson and trading up to draft him. You have to, context is everything. Okay.

Context is everything. So before that draft, they evaluated Pat Mahomes. They believe Pat Mahomes had the highest ceiling in the draft. Most everybody did. But remember, he would have had to play his rookie year and play for John Fox. And he was a guy who was seen as a little undisciplined in life, a lot undisciplined in how he played, need to clean up his footwork. And everyone has said, look at how much he gained. from learning behind

Alex Smith and Andy Reid and that entire staff that think about it you put Patma Holmes on the Bears he's not Patma Holmes he doesn't have the skill set

of players around him and he wouldn't have gotten a year to redshirt to learn how to be a pro and it's allowed him to potentially be a first ballot Hall of Famer and maybe the greatest statistical quarterback we've ever seen

what do they like about Trubisky he's an incredible guy like there's not anyone who doesn't and remember he's following Jay Cutler who nobody liked they moved Jay Cutler's locker out of the locker room. This is a true story. He did not dress.

His last year with the Bears, he did not dress with the rest of the team. He was that disliked within the culture of that locker room. And Mitch Chubisky comes in and there's no one I know whose work with Mitch, but he's like, dude, I love that dude. I love that dude. And remember, he barely played

in college so they feel like he will continue to improve incrementally. And as much as, I agree with you, he has a low ceiling. Did the Bears have a great year last year? Yeah. They didn't have a great finish. had a great year. And considering that's his first year as a full-time start in the NFL, they still think there's a lot there. He is a great athlete. He is really well-liked. He's not crazy accurate. But his ceiling is higher than I think you give him credit. But I also think

the Bears knew what they were doing. And their evaluation was long-term, they think Trubisky will be better than Deshaun Watson. We'll see. You know, over the, I was thinking about this driving home yesterday. Over the last five or six years, Tim Tebow, won seven. straight games, won a playoff game, but pre-Capernik, Tebow was good enough to play in the league, but what I was hearing around the league is you do not want a celebrity backup quarterback. They become a distraction. The Kaepernick stuff we saw is very political, but the GMs I talked to said he would be a celebrity

backup. Johnny Mansell can't get a job. It's good enough to play. He's a celebrity backup. This league, this is not the NBA. They don't like distractions. So I'm not saying the OBJ watch thing is everything, but I have watched this league, Doug, my entire life.

Baseball can deal with distractions. I mean, they have goofy road trips. They all dress in, you know, suits. Baseball's a zillion games. NBA star-driven. The watch thing seems small, right? Yes. But in a weird way, it's what drives coaches crazy in this league

that Freddie Kitchens has to answer questions about a watch. Correct. But this is a symptom of the bigger problem. in Cleveland. Like, is it the major problem? No. Okay. But he comes to a new team and he doesn't go to OTAs. Is that a major problem? No, but you're trying to ingratiate yourself. You're trying to buy into the culture. You have some of the Baker comments and Baker's constant trolling of people like you on social media or, you know, the Duke Johnson stuff. Is it a major problem? No, but again, it's a symptom. They have the fights against the Colts. When they had the

scrimmages against the Colts, they had to cancel them because there were so many fights. Is that a major problem? No, it does happen. Then they have 18 penalties, 18 freaking penalties at home. In your first year, you want to be a Super Bowl team? You have 18 penalties. And what does Freddie Kitchen said? We lost our discipline.

Now, you didn't lose it. You never had it. That is their problem. The problem is the discipline, and this is just a little sign of it. Does it change the world that you're wearing a watch? No, but one is the reason no one else has done it. And two, you have to step back and just go, like, all right, let's just make it about, he keeps saying it's about winning and winning football

games. It's not what you're saying. It's what you're doing. Show up to the OTAs. Take the watch off. Forget about anything else and just lock in, you know, look, they target him a ton, but he wasn't able to break free. Everybody's bracketing him with coverage. So I just don't think he understands how he's perceived and he continues to make what the Browns are making. Same mistakes and lack of discipline over and over again. I also think there's a lot to be said. Many people who think A.B. will work in New England say this. And I don't think they're wrong. They say, well, A, B, knows he can't get away with it, but Belichick, he'll fall in line.

There is something to be said is your child, your children do as much as they think they can get away with, right? I think OBJ thinks, what's Freddy Kitchen going to do? I can wear a watch. I can do what I want. Like, for him to say, like, A, you wouldn't do it if Belichick was your coach. You don't, you don't fear repercussions. And you would not say after you did it.

I'm going to keep wearing it. Like, that's telling me what OBJ thinks of the strength. structure, which is, this is my team, I'm not going to worry about what they said. You guys remember Jurassic Park, the first Jurassic Park? It was very good. Right, right? And they talked about the Raptors is when we first found out about Raptors. Yeah.

And the zookeeper, if you will, was like, they're very smart. They test the fence every day, but they test different parts of the fence every day. Right. That's what NFL players. That's what, you know, professional athletes are like. Like, they're going to test you. They're going to see exactly who you are every day. And whether it's a penalty here, whether it's a penalty here, whether it's a,

tweet there or Instagram or a watch. One of these things. And how you react is how they perceive you. You know, I mean, like, look, these guys, O'Don Beckham Jr. is not a dope. Like, he's brilliant. This is a, and to him, it is a social marketing thing.

He believes that though the NFL can sell every other part of his jersey, this is a way where he can sell his body. Like this, he knows what he's doing. But the idea that the Browns have had really no reaction to it tells you that they are not, keeping kind of the

old inmates running the asylum. They're running amok. You have 18 penalties in a first game. It's incredible. And no one gets, I do, you walk in and guys should be getting cut. They should be sent on the Greyhound back home. That's the way it should work. All right, Doug Gottlieb, Trent Brown of the Raiders.

The one. Wait, wait, wait, wait, two other things. Two things. One, I got a great podcast in the Hurt Podcast Network. Okay. Spokane's own Adam Morrison. Okay. It's an hour and 15 minutes. Unbelievable. Kobe stories. A Larry Brown story is amazing. Some Mark Few Stories you're going to love.

And have you said happy birthday to your daughter today? I'm texting her, yes. But to the rest of the war, he has the most unbelievably brilliant, mature daughter. No, she's a nice girl. That's it. Hey, you can't just gas everybody up in the world. She's a nice kid. She's a great, when we first met and she was six years old.

Yeah. She was like 15 then. She was good. You're like, ah, leave Olivia here. Let's go out. She'll be fine. They'll cook for you. She'll clean.

She'll be absolutely great. Godlieb. Good seeing you. Coming up next, some of these teams at last week one, we should freak out over. I'll give you a list of the teams I don't think we should. The good teams, that's coming up. After hearing me talk about Butcher Box for months, there's an offer now that won't be offered much longer. Go to Butcherbox.com slash H-E-R-D.

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Happy birthday to my daughter. Beautiful 19 years old. All right, now I got time. Big Ben sent something. The Steelers got humiliated in week one, right? They got humiliated at New England, not the end of the world, right? Big Ben in the locker room said, listen, let's chill out. No big deal.

Here's Big Ben. It's not like all of a sudden we have to go back to the drawing board and start, you know, doing this, just, you know, scratching everything, crossing everything out. Where do we go from here? It's just we all need to, starting with myself, play better. And it's nothing drastic on anybody's plate. It's just little things here, little things there. Now, four division winners last year, four. Half lost in week one.

But if you go 0 and 2, the numbers drop dramatically that you're in trouble and will miss the playoffs. Big gap from one loss to two losses. So we're going to play a game called something or nothing. Little something or nothing. We're going to take the six teams that either have an elite roster, an elite coach, or an elite quarterback. Was there week one lost something or nothing? Let's start with Chicago. To me, it was something.

now they're O'N-1. They face their former defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, who knows everything Mitch Trubisky can and can't do. Denver, since the merger at home in weeks one and two, is 51, 8, and 2. It's the hardest game to win in the league since the merger. At Denver, altitude, weeks one and two. Mitch Trubisky's last two starts offensively, limited. And, oh, by the way, the interim. NFC North, Minnesota's good, Green Bay's good, Chicago's good.

This is now arguably the best, most competitive division in the NFL. That loss, it's something. Carolina, that's nothing. They're going to trounce Tampa tonight. They lost to the Rams. The Rams won the NFC and have the best young coach in football. By the way, Cam wasn't 100%. He made some very nice plays in that game.

They were in it until the end. again. Next week, they play Arizona with extra rest because they're playing tonight. So if they lost and went 0 and 2, they'll be 1 and 2. And oh, by the way, their division, New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa, me. Number three is Cleveland. Their loss. It was something. 18 penalties. Listen, when they traded away their second best offensive line into the Giants that didn't like it, and their offensive line was overwhelmed by Tennessee. that's not something that's going to go from that to great anytime this year.

They've got to address it in the offseason. Good offensive linemen just don't become available. By the way, 18 penalties, rookie head coach. I don't blame that on Baker. I could have easily hammered Baker and he had three picks, one pick six. Their schedule, they'll beat the Jets, gets very tough after the Jets. So that loss was a little something. Atlanta.

It was something. and I like Atlanta, but let's be honest about this. Have you seen their schedule coming up? Philly Titans at Houston, Rams, Seattle, at Saints. That schedule's brutal. And by the way, Mike Zimmer's a very good coach for Minnesota. He's 5-1 in Openers. But their offensive line got worked.

They didn't look ready to play. And if they lose this week, Dan Quinn will be on a. major hot seat, so you'll have to deal with that distraction. That loss is a little something. Pittsburgh. It's nothing. They lost to Brady. They almost always lose to Brady.

It was in Foxborough. Listen, every time they play Brady, it seems like, they don't only lose. They just look bad. They're also working on two young receivers, Juju Smith-Schuster and James Washington. It's not going to be developed overnight. It should also be noted. they play a West Coast team with an early start.

Seattle has never been good, going east early starts. The Pittsburgh Steelers have over the last 10 years had some really bad Sundays. I mean, they've had, they're not New England consistent. They have had bad Sundays. They almost always bounce back from them. They still have the best offensive line in the AFC. I don't think it was anything. Finally, Houston.

Houston, nothing. Listen, they outplayed the Saints. They led until the final second against the Saints. This week, they play the Jags backup quarterback. Their division, Nick Foles, no more Andrew Luck, Marcus Mariotta. Deshawn Watson is easily the best quarterback in the division. Laramie Tunzel left tackle. Listen, their offensive line did not.

look great. He's a great start, and he's going to get better. Houston's loss means nothing to me. I think they're the best team, best quarterback. I think they have potentially the best left tackle in the division. They have the best receiver in the division. Bill O'Brien's fine. They don't have a GM. They're not buttoned up organizationally. So in review, Carolina's loss doesn't mean anything to me. Pittsburgh's loss doesn't mean anything to me. And Houston's loss doesn't really mean anything to me. Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland, don't feel great, something or nothing.

Greg CoSell at the top of next hour, you know Greg, the NFL meat sandwich, love that stuff. And the breaking news, of course, is Adam Gase, coach of the Jets, with a very somber press conference today. Sam Darnold is out against Cleveland. Monday night football was going to be glorious.

Baker against Darnold. I would win, you would win. I could not wait for Tuesday. show. Darnold's out. Jet season over. Schedules brutal. C.J. Mosley may not play. Lavian Bell, MRI. This is an organization that didn't address their top two needs in the draft, cornerback or right receiver. They took some personality guys, some injury guys. I thought it was the worst draft in the league. I said it after the draft. It's up my sources felt. It's what I felt. They're season officially over. Sam Darnold out mono, at least this week, probably two to three.

Our two next. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard radio app. Search Hurd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.

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

My mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's he at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hour two, a couple of minutes. Greg CoSell stops by.

This is The Heard. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1 again, Greg CoSell in a couple of minutes. Joy Taylor's joining me. First Hour with Doug Gott. He flew right on by. The big story, of course, Sam Darnold, ruled out for Monday night football against Baker Mayfield.

Big loss for me. I couldn't wait for Tuesday's show in Monday's game. He's got mono. Jets season to me is over. He will miss at least one game, probably two to three. And they're a mess organization. This is what he's going to have to overcome, the complete dysfunction with the Jets, who didn't address any of their problems in the draft,

and allowed a general manager who they were going to fire to run their draft. you can't make it up. Baker Mayfield, he's going to be successful. He's going to have to overcome Cleveland. He's on his second head coach. The head coach he has now had never been a coordinator. Of all the rookie quarterbacks, one is flourishing. Lamar Jackson, the last one taken of the five,

went to the best organization, the best coach, the most ability, and look at how they have furnished him with tight ends, running backs, wide receivers, patience. we are all, you know, to some degree, beholden to what we inherit in life. Joy Taylor is joining me. It's like I say, I've always been more impressed by a kid that comes from a brutal life and then ends up having just a solid, simple, uncaotic, awesome, regular life over the trust fund kid who blows half of it, but ends up a millionaire, like, what do you inherit?

What are your parents like? What's your background? What's your neighborhood? What's your community? You know, Lamar is, by the way, he gets a lot. a lot of credit, but he inherited functional GM coach, quarterback, O'Line

and ownership. And look at Sam Donald now. It's just an absolute mess. They don't have a kicker. They had one. They let him go. They tried out five this week. Baker Mayfield, you know, they let go of his offensive linemen, his number two offensive linemen.

So Baker Mayfield's running for his life. So the story today, Sam Donald, out Monday night football. Let's go to Greg CoSell. 40 years now, NFL films. Somebody I rely on. We called our NFL meat sandwich. He is the most objective guy in the business. We ask questions. He gives us answers. So let's start with this. I mean, listen, Dallas, the offense was quick. It was rhythmic. It was fast. And I know we can say, well, well, I mean, it's week one. But Greg, on film, it did look more rhythmic. Dak did look more

comfortable. Did he not? I would say, look, I would also say that that performance by the Giants defense was so bad. I really do a ton of open receivers. He made a couple of really good throws, but I don't know what to say, Colin, beyond that. You know, I think we've reached the point, and I'm sure we're going to get to this with Lamar Jackson as well, where when NFL quarterbacks make throws that every NFL quarterback should make,

if it's a quarterback that we've not thought of as a great passer, we then say, oh my God, these are unbelievable throws. I don't know where to go with that. You know, when a quote, when he hits Blake Jarwin, who's wide open, and he hits Randall Cobb, who's wide open, and there's no defender within 10 yards of either player, you know, I'm being honest. I'm just trying to be honest, because I've been watching tape since 1991.

I've seen an awful lot. You know, now with social media, you get a lot of young kids who are 28, 29, who are writing, and they see things, and they go, oh, my God, I've never seen that before, and then I watch the Twitter feed. I go, I've been seeing this for 30 years. So I don't know what to say in response to quarterback hitting wide open receivers.

Well, I guess so let's go to Lamar Jackson. So, I mean, obviously Miami's bad. Was there something you saw with Lamar where you saw growth or was it just bad defense overmatch personnel? Touchdown he hit to Brown was an RPO in which the post safety totally abandoned the middle of the field, which he should never do. and he hit him on a quick flant, which any quarterback could make that throw, and he ran 47 yards for a touchdown.

The long one was an example where they rush three with what's called a mush rush because they're obviously concerned about him running, so there's that factor in his game without question. It was actually a pretty cool concept because they put four receivers to the boundary side of the field, the short side of the field, but Minker Fitzpatrick totally squatted, and Brown just ran right by him, and he hit him a wide open receiver on a long pass. So he made good throws. They were good at it. And by the way, what I'm saying is not a knock on back Prescott-Alamar Jackson.

I'm just trying to figure out when quarterbacks hit open receivers, if that's an indication that they're great throwers at the NFL level. Let's go to Kyler Murray, really ugly early. Then he got into some rhythm late. I thought Detroit looked a little gassed late because they played temple offense. What did you make of the performance early and late? Now I'm fascinated more by what they did tactically because they lined up a lot with what we call 10 personnel, meaning one back and four wide receivers. And I think that's going to be a foundation personnel package, which you don't see very often in the NFL.

And obviously they line up in shotgun. At times they have David Johnson in the backfield. At times he split in an empty set with no one in the backfield. And, you know, Matt Patricia chose to play a lot of nickel, five DBSs against four wide receivers. And I think it'll be interesting as the year progresses to see how teams defend that because I don't think teams will defend it with 5 dBs going forward. So we'll see. But, I mean, that to me was the most fascinating thing about what they did.

And then he'd do a lot of those misdirection concepts with Kyler, who certainly can run, that it'll present a challenge until teams, I think, figure it out. And then Cliff Kingsbury will then have to respond. That's the chess match at work. And I love that part of the game. Let's go to the Green Bay Packers. You know, it's funny. people go, well, they were a little choppy, but I would argue this is Green Bay's new reality.

Mike Zimmer's an excellent defensive coach. The Bears have excellent defensive personnel. First six, seven years in the league, Minnesota couldn't find the right coach or quarterback. The Bears were dysfunctional. The bears, I think, are more functional. I think Minnesota now has the right coach. So I think Aaron's new reality is, you know, the seven years of blowout wins and MVP stats, I mean, if you're playing Chicago twice a year and Minnesota twice a year, that's 25% of your schedule. I think that win Thursday for Green Bay, I think a lot of his wins going forward may end up looking like that, which is Aaron made one or two great plays. The games were close. They were in doubt late. Or did you see something with Green Bay that did concern you at all? Well, I'm not sure yet

exactly what they're going to be on offense. It was a preseason game. Rogers had not played yet, so it had the feel of a preseason game. You know, I think watching the tape, I wasn't sure exactly what they were trying to get done. I'm sure if Matt LaFleur was on the other line, he'd tell me exactly what they were trying to get done. You know, I'd like to see them involve the run game a little more. They started to do some of that in the second half. Maybe that's something to build on. You're right.

They're going to play some really good defenses. You know, I'm just not sure yet what they are. You know, I think this feeling that Aaron Rogers is just every week is just going to, you know, bail you out. I'm not sure that's going to be the case anymore. So, again, it's week one. I'm not sure yet. So I watched the entire Rams Carolina game. Yeah.

Gurley was very good late. Cam had his moments, but I've never loved his mechanics. Clearly the Carolina Panthers are making McCaffrey a big centerpiece of that offense. He is getting his carries. Any takeaways from Cam, Carolina, the Rams? I thought it was a very interesting game that could have gone either way. Well, here's my takeaway line at D because I think when you play the Rams, there's two things from a Cliff Notes version.

You've got to take away. the outside zone run game and all the in-breaking routes. Okay? The Patriots did it one way in the Super Bowl. Carolina did it another way, week one. You know, kind of overlooked in all this as Jared Goff, and the Super Bowl and week one did not throw from any yards. Yeah.

And I'm going to be very curious to see how Sean McVeigh responds to this, because Carolina did it totally differently than the Patriots did it because there's many ways to do things in this league. Right. But they're taking away what they do, what their offense is sort of founded on. And I think now that the burden is a little bit on Sean to figure out how he wants to respond to this. Yeah. Well, obviously, Pittsburgh does not match up with Tom Brady particularly well.

And, you know, some people are suggesting it's because Pittsburgh just goes into a zone. Tom Brady eats it alive. It's simplistic coverage. I don't have an answer for it. I just know that when you put the precision of Brady up against the Steelers' emotional defenses through the years, I don't know what it is, but, you know, I don't know what it is, But he just picks him apart. I mean, that was...

Well, what did you make of it? I think the takeaway from that game to me was the number of snaps to steal out a tight end on the field. The Patriots played more snaps in that game without a tight end on the field than they played all of the 2018 season. Now, that may be specific to that game, or it may be something they're going to do. And I guess if Antonio Brown is able to play, we'll see how all this plays out. I mean, they theoretically, you know, we talked about the Cardinals playing with four. If Antonio Brown is able to play and there's no off-the-field issues and, you know, everything works, they have four wide receivers they could put out there with a back, like a Burkhead

or a white who are excellent receiving backs, and that's a tough deal for a defense. And with Brady's, you know, internal clock and sense of timing, he's not a guy who holds the ball in the pocket. So that's something to me that will be fascinating to watch. Let's get to the big play of the week. It's a Tom Brady play to Julian Edelman. Take it away. This is something that they do exceptionally well.

And let's just see the play first as we run it. Here they do have a tight end on the field, by the way. So what do they do? They go play action, and they hit Edelman, and he looks, he's wide open. This is a staple. This is an identity play for them. They line up in 21 personnel, two backs, the eye formation, straight eye. Now, Devlin here, he's actually, well, let's start with Edelman as well.

Look at how tight to the formation element is. That's really an important part of this play. This is going to be an ISO lead look. Now, what you're going to do is you see the tight end cross the formation. That's something they do often. Actually, Devlin's going to try to work up to the linebacker, not to the defensive alignment. So he's going to block the linebacker. But look at the two linebackers.

Look how they react to the ISO lead run action. They go at it hard, and all Edelman does is run right behind them. They do this every week against every. team in the league, and Edelman is normally the recipient of this. Gronk was the recipient for years, but Edelman is now. It's an identity play for the Patriots. They do it out of ISO lead run action. It's a quick pressure on Brady with a throw like this.

It's an identity play for them. It's something they do all the time every week. Yeah, through your years, 40 years, Greg Coasell, week one, half the teams, over half the teams that made the playoffs lost in week one. is there anything you see in a week one, a particular game that was, you know, I mean, obviously, Miami's personnel's bad. What do you take from week one? Unless it's an identity thing. But in other words, if you're talking about an individual player, either good or bad, you have to be careful.

But for instance, we know Minnesota, that's the way they want to play. Now, Kirk Cousins won't throw 10 balls every week, but they're establishing the identity by which they want to play. You know, we know that Kyle Murray and Cliff Kingsbury, that's the way they want to play. But as far as individual players, I think you have to be careful, good and bad. It's one week. Teams are not defined yet. And to make bold definitive judgments about what teams or players are after one week, I think is really problematic, to me anyway, doing this for as long as I have.

One more, one thing that did jump out to me, the Giants made a, excuse me, the Browns made a trade because they wanted another pass rusher to get Olivier Vernon. They gave up one of their better offensive linemen to the Giants, get that. I thought it was a little bit of a risk because I think Baker's a guy that is not as athletic as people think. When I watched Tennessee's defensive front kind of manhandle the Brown's offensive front in portions of that game, that felt problematic. Can you solve an offensive line in the middle of a season? Did you take anything away from the Brown's 18 penalties, offensive line overwhelmed? Well, I do think the offensive line could potentially be an issue. It's not a

really strong unit. And offensive lines tend to get better as the season progresses. So I think you have to take that into account. Now, we'll see. You know, I think that was a game where the coordinator who's been doing a good job with disguise and post-nap movement that I think it caused some problems for a young inexperienced quarterback like Baker Mayfield. And I like Baker Mayfield a lot.

But you have to understand how many starts he's had. Right. You know, we're so quick to anoint, and hey, maybe I fall into that category, too. But I think you just have to be a little careful, you know, about anointing guys, and they'll learn. They'll learn from this game. And don't forget, Freddie Kitchens is a first-year head coach. He'll learn too. Yeah.

No, and listen, Tennessee's got players. They've been nine and seven, three straight years. They have a very good offensive line. They added some pieces on the perimeter. I have my questions about, you know, Marcus Mariotta, but let's not just talk Cleveland. and Tennessee's got real players, Greg? Yeah, and I think they understand Arthur Smith, their new offensive coordinator, I thought, did a really good job.

They understand Marcus Mario's strength. They understand his limitations. You know, when you call a shot play on your first series and it works, that's obviously something that's a real positive because they called the shot play and they hit A.J. Brown for, I think, 51 yards. You know, when you hit Derek Henry on a throwback screen, the same play they tried earlier in the game that didn't work and they came back to it, you know, that's, you know, so I think they understand the two Walker touchdowns were brilliantly

schemed. Yes. You know, those were schemed one-reed throws. Now, look, that's what offensive coordinators are supposed to do. I mean, there's a lot of quarterbacks over the years, great quarterbacks who have been schemed really well. The throws are defined, and they make them. And that's what coaching is supposed to do for you.

But there'll always be times in games where, you know, if a quarterback is to be great, where he's going to have to make tough, type. window throws that can't always be schemed. Good stuff, Greg Kosell, NFL films. Good talking to you. All right, Colin. Thanks. By the way, Rob Parker's going crazy after this dominating New England win.

Sam Darnold again, out for the week. Money Night Football, the Baker Sam Darnold matchup, which I couldn't wait for, will not transpire. Bummer. Darnold looks to be, very somber tone in New York, not just out for one week. He's got mono. Hiring can be a very, very tedious, long, arduous, and slow process.

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Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd. days in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral

moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action, with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the Heart way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field

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

losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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.

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

Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliffer Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Car shopping, confusing, a lot of terms, don't be.

Save three grand off MSRP, 15,000 true car certified dealers. The network is nationwide. New or used, doesn't matter. You'll know the fees. You'll know the accessories by the time you get there. Let's get to it. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, Ben Rothersberger has had a reputation for not, necessarily being the best leader, but he seems to be making an effort to change that this year. So ESPN interviewed a lot of Steelers players this offseason who said they felt Big Ben was really trying to be more approachable and connect with his teammates. He hosted a few of the skill players at his lakehouse for the first time since 2015. Remember that. Then he told his personal journey in the NFL and answered any questions that they had. He's been taking more time

in practice and talk with the wide receivers about their routes. And the Steelers, no, This is Big Ben's team, but his efforts to be a better leader are not going unnoticed. So this is a good positive sign. Sometimes, you know, people, we always say, like, people don't change. If you are who you are, but sometimes there's something dramatic or something illuminating that happens to you, especially when you were getting later in your career. Yes. Where you realize, you know, maybe I've been slacking a little bit or I've been too comfortable

and maybe I just need to get back to a more hustler's mentality or I need to see and reflect on what everyone is telling me about myself. Yeah, people get content. It happens. Right. And it is more convenient when you already have a few Super Bowl. Right. And you're already considered a Hall of Famer. It's a kind of, you know, it's human nature to say, okay, like I accomplish this. Now I can, you know, be happy and relax a little

bit. That's why guys who play at the highest level for a consistent amount of time and continue to win championships are so impressive because, you know, it's hard to get to the top of whatever industry you're in, but it's very hard to actually stay at the top as well because you have to constantly be motivated. We always joke about Patriots thinking they're an underdog and acting like they didn't win the Super Bowl last year. But that mentality is what makes you push yourself just a little bit more every year. So this is a good sign.

I did not like the week one loss for the Steelers. I do think it's a bit telling as far as the talent level goes. But this is a good sign at least that Ben is – and he's talking different too. It seems like the tone in his press conferences are different. He's been humbled. Yeah. Yeah. So that's a good time for the Steelers this year.

So this morning, Jets coach Adam Gays, announced to Sam Darnold, Will Miss Monday night's game against the Browns with mono. There's more bad news for the Jets. Levion Bell will be having an MRI on his shoulder. Gase also spoke about Levian status this morning. 26 will be out for practice today. We've got a sore shoulder. We'll be evaluating.

I'll know more today. I'm waiting for to find out kind of the extent of this. I mean, this could be just soreness. I mean, we don't think it's anything worse than that. but we're just kind of probably being a little extra cautious. This season's man overboard. So Levy and Bell's hurt. C.J. Mosley may not play.

Mono for the quarterback. They don't have a kicker. Cleveland is, boy, I like Cleveland this week. Yeah, I mean, you have to. Oh, Lord. It's actually a great, and to be clear, this is just a precautionary MRI for Levy on Bell. Like he said, it could just be soreness. I mean, he's been away for a while, and, you know,

kind of expected a little bit of this, especially since he didn't play in the preseason. So there's nothing too much to overreact to. It's just like with everything else. Yeah. What else can you have? But this is a good setup for the Browns. Coming off of that, humiliating, really awful loss. There'll be total urgency.

Right, which this felt like a must-win game for them. Now, it still is a must-win game, but you're in a softer setup at least this week. It went from must-win to will win. They will win. Well, if they do not win. Now you've got problems. The whole narrative of the season changes. Finally, Tom Brady was obviously a sixth round pick by the Patriots from Michigan.

He offered some insights into the advantages of late-round picks and undrafted players. We've had a lot of undrafted players, late-round picks. I think, you know, what they can't evaluate at the combine, you know, are probably things that might help you prolong your career. You know, you learn different skill sets when you're not the top pick. Sometimes I think the guys who are later picks develop those traits, and then you realize, man, those really paid off for me, and let me keep doing them. He has a point there.

The Patriots have quite a bit of late-round picks on their roster. James White was the fourth round. Julian Edelman, seventh round. Shaq Mason was the fourth round. Marcus Cannon, fifth round. Their center who's out for the year was undrafted. I mean, it's amazing what they've done. And again, when you have a great system, you can find players who may me not have the highest skill level who adapt you.

I think the Rams have this. I think the Rams are doing this in the NFC. where they create a system, and they can go small school, undrafted, absolutely drafted, and they can fit guys into their system, and it works. Well, I mean, look, my brother was a third-round pick. He went to Akron, so it's not like he was coming into the league with, you know, these crazy expectations. He actually came in undersized.

So there is something to coming in with lower expectations and then exceeding them. Obviously, everyone can act like, you know, the Patriots made this steal with Tom Brady, but nobody knew what Tom Brady was. New England didn't know. Right. Obviously not. They wouldn't have taken him in the sixth round. They almost cut him.

I mean, he almost got cut the year he got drafted. To his credit, and what he's speaking about is kind of what we were just discussing with Ben Rathesberger, is that you have this mentality when you are a later pick or you're undrafted. You have this constant fear of not, I mean, James Harrison's talked about it. Like, there's not a thought of holding out. I have a fear of making the team. Right. I have to earn my spot every single week.

And that mentality can overcome what people may perceive as lack of talent. Yeah. By the way, I don't want to spend a lot of time on this because it punishes our radio audience, but Tom Brady has moved from the best quarterback in the league to the most amazing human. Did you see him at the press conference? Look how young he looks. Yeah, maybe he has, maybe he's been on that, uh, whatever you were talking about yesterday. I did some yesterday.

Look at him. He did some CBD oil. I thought, what is it called? No, it's funny how you say it. Like, you do it. I did CBD oil yesterday. No, you used some CBD oil. I rubbed it on my knee and let's just say I was flying the rest of the day.

Did you feel better? I was feeling no pain. What? And I could not stop staring at potato chips in the pantry. You're lying. That Brady picture. Is that the craziest thing you've ever seen? He's whined about the clock in every way, yes.

It doesn't make any sense. He doesn't even look. On the radio audience, I apologize. Just Google Brady's latest pressure. I have to do haircut, though. Sometimes the new haircut can do wonders. All right. There's joy with a name.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. 30 seconds on this. So I go to the store. We talked about CBD oil and it's cannabis and stuff. And I thought, do you get high? And Joy said no.

So yesterday I go to the store. And right at the register, they had a bunch of CBD oil. I told you. And I took a picture. And I'm like, I'm going to try it. And the lady says, you don't have to buy it. There's a tube right here. Just try it.

So I put it on my knee and I was just like, woo. And then so then I said, you know what? I'm on a couple of these things because I just want to buy them and talk about it on the show. Right. And see. So the second tube I just ate I forget the knee I just ate the thing

I told you Like a woman would not give it to you at the Cash register if it was drugs Like here try this Where you're buying you know Have your eggs and your milk and you know CBD oil Do you make you feel better?

My knee feels great I told you Fantastic What kind of store do you go to Where they just give you CBD oil At the register Well I go to a different store He does live in Manhattan Beach

So it's I do live this is California There's a lot of different stores. It's a little laid back than probably the rest of the country. It's not Cincinnati, folks. Yeah. But it's good. I'm glad that you did CBD oil.

And it looked like it works. I'm an E. So, by the way, people often say you hate this guy and you hate this guy. And I'm like, I'm not hating if I'm right. Like if I went out and I just, all I did was bang on Kauai Leonard, you'd be like, dude, he's a hater. He's great. If I banged on Tim Duncan for 20 years or Tom Brady.

But if I criticize a guy and it ends up I'm accurate, Carmelo, Anthony, or Westbrook, it's not hating. I've been very tough on Cam Newton. Tonight he plays against James Winston. Carolina will win. I think they'll win convincingly. I think Carolina wins going away. I think they have the better coach.

They have the better quarterback. They have the better defense. They have the better organization. I think they win tonight. But this idea that we're going to learn anything new from Cam, like he wins tonight. Because I know what's going to happen. Cam's going to win, look good. And I'm going to get this.

Oh, you're a hater. The book's in. This is year nine. Like that would be like saying, did you hear Rush Limbaugh yesterday? He was conservative. It's been established. He's conservative. I know exactly what I'm going to get from Cam tonight.

I'm going to get one. I'm going to get four things. Three of four, four, four, four. Number one, he's going to have a really nice run during the game. I'm not saying he's going to have a ton of them, but he will do something in the red zone. He'll scramble and you'll be like, man, that guy is crazy. Six, six, size of a building runs. He'll have a really nice run tonight.

At some point, they'll use Cam in the run game. and he'll be spectacular. The second thing is, he's going to miss a wide open receiver. It may be a screen pass for four yards. There'll be a wide open guy deep, a touchdown. There'll be a wide open screen. And he'll just, and you'll say to yourself, this is nine years in the league.

How do you miss that throw? Third thing, he will also have a great throw or four, and the mechanics will stink. He made two throws against the Rams last week, didn't even use his legs. Just armed it down the field, 35 yards. And one of them was in the first quarter, I'm like, God gave this guy tools.

It's unfair. His mechanics are all over the map, but he will make two or three throws tonight, maybe four or five, because he did last week. You're just in awe of his talent. He just arms it. Bad mechanics, doesn't use his legs, arms it down the field for 38 yards on a dot.

And you're like, it's amazing. And the fourth thing, he'll be the best dress guy coming into the stadium and the best dress guy at the podium. Three of those four or four are going to happen. They're going to win, and you're going to go to Twitter, going to be like, oh, man, you're such a hater. It's been established. Now, now, Baker Mayfield's career is being established.

Lamar Jackson's career is being established. But you're in this league eight years. Case Keenham, I know what he is. Tom Brady, I know what he is. I mean, I love Big Ben. He's not a precision thrower. He's gotten worse. He's not a precision thrower. I know what Philip Rivers is. Like him, durable, could not outrun a batting cage.

And we'll make one bad throw. a Sunday where you just go, Philip, no. But I know what Kim is. Best dressed, great athlete, will miss wide open receiver tonight at least once and we'll make three or four throws and we'll all just look at it and go, I mean, nobody else in the world can make that. He'll arm a ball. And what I mean by that, he won't even drive it. He'll just like arm it in a tiny little window and you're like, why can he do that all the time? I don't know. But I know this. He's thrown for over 25 touchdowns once in eight years. And that's kind of an indictment. Don't tell me about the receivers. Brady and Bree's haven't had pro bowlers every year. I don't want to hear about the

receivers. He's had good old lines, good running backs, good tight ends, great defenses, stability at coach. He's fine, but he is what he is. It's been established. Also, the breaking news today one more time, Adam Gates announcing Sam Darnold is out for the Jets, Monday night football. So the Baker Sam Darnold clash, which I couldn't wait for. I was going to make for a great money and a great Tuesday show next week. It's done. It's out. He's got mono. Probably means he's out for a couple weeks. And what it really means is the jet season is over. This is, by the way, I think Baker Mayfield would actually prefer to face Sam Darnel. I think he was jacked up for it. I think Sam wanted to face Baker. I don't think athletes.

I mean, I think Tom Brady liked to face Peyton Manning. I think Peyton Manning liked to face Tom Brady. So I think both quarterbacks, obviously Darnold is physically sick. I think Baker's bummed out. I think he wanted to face Sam and I couldn't wait. But he's out. The schedule, the decisions in the offseason, the lousy draft. Let's congratulate the New England Patriots on clinching the AFC East, it's week two. They have clinched the division again.

Rob Parker, that must drive him nuts, is joining us next. Good third hour, too. Jeff Fisher stops by. Turns out a major way to pair speakers, printers, and numerous other third-party devices with your smartphones may have a major vulnerability. Security researchers reveal that

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not monitor all, but prevent most life lock. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeart radio app. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Lights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. 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 Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations. with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person

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

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Thursday night football is back with a clash of NFC South foes. The Buccaneers are eager. to get off to a hot start, but the Panthers are looking to make an early season statement in Carolina. Bucks, Panthers, we're all rivals here tonight at 8 Eastern only on NFL Network. Cam Newton will play well. Carolina wins it by about a touchdown or more. I think Caroline's pretty good. Are you psyched for that game? I actually am.

Okay. You won't be? I might watch the Golden Girls Marathon on the Lifetime. Come on. Rob Parker is joining us, co-host of the odd couple with Chris Brousart. By the way, Sam Darnold out. Patriots have clinched the divation. This has been my lifelong argument about Tom Brady being the lot, the luckiest of all time.

The one quarterback in the division who maybe could challenge him has mono is going to be out for a few weeks. And you're right. The season's over. The jet season is over. I mean, just like that. And this is what keeps happening to Tom Brady. It's the same thing with Antonio. Brown, you know, the best receiver in the league falls in your lap.

Like all these good things. It doesn't mean that he's not a good player, a great player. But my goodness, everything stacks up for him. We were saying this morning in the meeting, the dolphins and the Jets are the two teams in the league, the only two you would say season over. Yeah. And they're in New England's division. So you just look at it and you go, and the dolphins, I mean.

Well, they're, you know what? They're just trying to accumulate draft picks. That's all they're trying to do. Listen, you know, Doug Gottlieb said this an hour ago. It's true. I'm not discounting anything from Nick Saban and Alabama, but LSU, Tennessee, and Florida have been dysfunctional and Auburn in most of his run. You know, it matters.

The bottom line is most dynasties need a break and New England's hat. And I say this as somebody who admires Belichick and Brady, to your point, there have been, it has been very, lucky is interesting. I don't love the word luck. But there is no question that Peyton Manning in the dysfunctional AFC South help Peyton Manning get a lot of home field playoff games. There's no doubt about it. And the same thing with the AFC least. If you go and honestly look at the teams that they've had and the situations, right.

Bad owners. But it all lined up for them and it helped them. When you only have to win two games to get to the Super Bowl, it's a big advantage. Clay, you're playing them at home. Yes. Oh, boy, this is glorious. I want to do there is one other thing

I want to touch on this. I'm not a Mitch Trubisky fan. The Bears yesterday had a press conference didn't really allow Trubisky to say anything.

So we know they limit his game on the field. Like, you know, he's constantly listening to the coach. Yesterday they wouldn't let him talk at the press conference.

He was, we have the sound of this. Watch this, Rob. Can you walk us through just kind of everything you're evaluating and you're deciding whether to give it

or keep it for a threat. No. I was told not to talk about the last game. Was it Adam? I was, Adam, amongst other people that were moving on. What do you make of that? I'm not buying that whatsoever.

The Bears are telling them not to talk about the last game. How ridiculous is that? My only thing is this is the way you should handle that. I play poorly. Give the Packers credit. They improved their defense. they played really well, and we're moving on the game, too. Now, you love Green Bay.

Yes. Matter of fact, in my power rankings on Fox Sports Radio, I picked the Packers as the number one team. And I did it because when you look at what they were able to do, this was not like a fluke win. They went out and finally improved. We've been talking about this forever, Colin. They went out and picked up some free agents.

They spent money. They drafted well. They built a defense, and what did Aaron Rogers say at the end of that game? We finally have a defense. He had to say it. By the way, Washington let him have Preston Smith. I don't get it. He is great.

We predicted, Joy and I kept saying this before the season. Preston Smith, they stole him from Washington. One of their best players, they let him go. Then they get Amos, who had the big interception from Chicago of Chicago in the game. And I'm glad you brought that up because when you say, well, defensively, what are you talking about? They made a play to win the game. The Bears were driving. Yes.

Right? And a former bear, now a Packer, made the peck. I'm telling you, the defense, and they're only going to get better offensively. You know, they got a new coach, Aaron Rogers. He wasn't great. Wasn't terrible, but he wasn't great. He will get better. If that defense is halfway decent, I have them winning the NFC North.

I don't think, well, I have them winning that. I don't think it's crazy that are in the NFC championship. So now you have to at least acknowledge. The Cowboys looked pretty slick. They looked pretty good. You can't acknowledge that? acknowledge that. I would call that an equivalent of an NFC, I mean an NFL, wearfair, victory. And what I mean by that is, it wasn't earned. When you look at the giants are horrible.

Well, defensively, even Greg Kosell said 40 minutes ago, he said, I don't know what to make of this, because even Dax, quote, good throws, people weren't within 10 yards of a wide receiver. And that's what you have to look at. Greg is being. honest, like you can look at this and go, oh, he threw for 400 yards. Oh, he had four touchdowns. Oh, he was unbelievable. You know, he's coming of age. He's going to be an elite quarterback. I got news for you. Last year, Ryan Fitzpatrick, who turns into a pumpkin at some point every year, had four, 400-yard games, and he played in eight games. He had four, 400-yard games. Four games where he threw for four touchdowns. And think about this. At least

And those games, a couple of them, they beat the Saints, they beat the Eagles, they beat some good teams. You're talking about a bad Giants team. If you can't throw the ball to wide open receivers in those situations at home, you know, you signed Zechio Elliott, you had everything going for you. What game can you not do that in? That doesn't mean anything to me. All right, two issues.

I'll get to LeBron in a second. OBJ and the Watch. I don't think it's a big thing. I think it's something. I'm not a fan of distractions. it works in other sports, not the NFL. I've seen it time and time again. What do you make at Cleveland, the watch OBJ?

Well, I told before the season that the Cleveland Browns were not going to make the playoffs. I never bought into a first year coach putting this thing together. We talked about this, Colin, they beat one team a year ago, right, that made the playoffs or finished with a 500 record. Last three years, they're 1 and 16 against playoff teams. So I wasn't buying into the whole, oh, they're going to the Super Bowl, look at their roster. And this is what bothers me.

I agree the watch is the end-all, be-all, or the worst thing in the world. But is that the focus that your wide receiver's worried about keeping a watch on? Or that's where your focus is after you just got your butt kicked in the opener at home? That just shouldn't be an issue. Well, I would just think, just like life, when you get humbled, generally you want the glare to come off you a little. Like, that's just human nature. Like if I had a bad show, I'd have my head down the next day, hide from management, try to have a great show, right? You'd think after the most humiliating week one loss, even for the Brown since like the 50s, you'd scale it back a little.

Do the watch after you go and beat New England. Do the watch thing. It's not great timing. Now, I've got to get to this. LeBron James, a great player. I'm a bigger fan of LeBron than you are. I do not like the last year, I think he's been distracted. I think the optics in L.A. have been kind of desperate.

seeking this and seeking. Not a good year for LeBron in Los Angeles. They'll be better this year, but I am a fan of him. So he wanted to trademark Taco Tuesday, and yesterday he was denied. How did that land for you? What is your response to it being denied? I thought it was very arrogant by LeBron

to come to Los Angeles, right? Right. Home of the taco and people doing a Taco Tuesday all over, for him to really believe that he was going to go down to the trademark office and convinced them that he came up with Taco Tuesday and people should pay him for the rights to use that in any kind of advertisements or anything was just really arrogant and over the top like oh I tweeted this out and it made a stink on the internet or on Instagram or whatever so this is mine and I just thought that that really came off as bad

yeah it was you know it's funny and I really like LeBron but it's weird there's a An old saying, like in Hollywood, when Midwest people move to the West, they try really hard to fit in. Their politics get even crazier left than the average Hollywood person. They party even harder than like the average L.A. actor. They're trying to prove I fit in. There is this weird thing about LeBron in the last year. Like, I'm drinking wine, which apparently turned off teammates, turned off from office. Look, everybody, I've got wine from Napa Valley.

Stop seeking validation. Drink wine. I'm for it. he's desperate, right? It's been a lot of seeking, reaching, preening, projecting. It's like, you're LeBron James. I'll give you the best example. His TV show, The Shop.

You know I had a local TV show in Detroit called Shop Talk. It was set in a barbershop 10 years ago, but that's another story. But even on his TV show, think about this. Of all places, Colin, a barbershop is where guys disagree. And you know what I mean? You could come in with a pink shirt on, and people will tell you it's eight different colors, right? Right, right.

On his show, they all agree with everything he says. And even that show is not authentic enough because that's not what a barbershop is about. Barbershop is calling guys out and defending your territory. Yeah, the shop is very much. I'm LeBron. Here's my world. Everybody agree with me.

And everybody goes, yeah, LeBron, you're right. Oh, yeah, that was great. Yeah, okay. That's not really. You're telling me that's not what your barbershop's like. That's not what my barber's... When I go in there, they go crazy on me in Detroit. And LeBron, the last episode, he wasn't even on the show.

I guess he was on vacation. By the way, how much do you charge for a haircut at your place? 20 bucks. Forever. And don't you get like a sandwich or something or potato chips or something at your place? What's the thing you do at your place? No, no, no. I used to have a hot dog stand.

Okay, I got a mixed up. Yeah. No hot, no food in barbershops together. You can't do it? No, no. So you had a hot dog stand and a barbershop. Yes. And sporty cuts are still good.

going 17 years on 7-mile road in Detroit. That's awesome. It is. That's what the best investment I ever made. Sporty cuts. Sporty cuts with a Z. Stop by there, John. You could use one. Hour three coming up the herd. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Welcome back to the herd. It's time to dive into Super 6 NFL Sunday, the new free-to-play game where you can win up to $250,000 of Terry Bradshaw's money. One of this matchups this week is Patriots versus Dolphins. Colin, give me a winner and a final score.

30 to 10, New England. Brian Flores, Bill Belichick likes him a lot. He would prefer not to pour it on. Obviously, Miami's rebuilding. No surprises here. Belichick's face Ryan Fitzpatrick 10 times, won eight of them. So I think actually Ryan Fitzpatrick,

a veteran quarterback, will move the ball a little bit. Belichick's not going to make one of his former assistants look lousy. I think New England's got bigger games in coming weeks. They may hide a few things. I think obviously New England's better, but I don't think they would ever humiliate Miami. And by the way, it's going to be so hot and sticky down there that New England, frankly, might not play that well. They've never played great football down in Miami. They don't play great football down in Miami.

It's usually later in the season. Yes. By the way, Miami and Tampa at home in September, it's an advantage. I lived in Tampa for two years. It's an advantage. It's very hot and human. Jeff Fisher, 13th most wins in NFL history, 22 years coaching in the NFL, the only pro sports coach ever that relocated two teams, made the Super Bowl 34 against the Rams.

A couple of things here, so it's week one, and let's say, for instance, you're Cleveland, and you look horrible, and the offensive line's overwhelmed, or you're Pittsburgh, and you don't want to panic, Jeff. Let's take Cleveland. You've got a young football team. I'm Freddie Kitchens. penalties, my offensive line. How do you avoid panicking? How do you bring the room down now for week two if you're Cleveland? I think things were put in perspective really quickly in Cleveland.

Here's what you've got to be careful of. The last five to six weeks in Cleveland last year, Greg Williams, the head coach, Freddie's taking over the plate calling duties. They're just hanging out having fun. Probably not a lot of discipline in the building on the practice field. They're just going after. At the end of last year? Yes. Did that continue? And now you add to it all the hype and now reality check sets in. Been pretty

quiet there this week. I would watch out for them. Sam Darnel, aside or not, watch out for them this week. They're too talented to play that way. So I think it was a reality check and they realized that, hey, it's different now. We've got to

do the little things and I hate to say this, but they got to get better. each day and they'll be fine. Let me ask you about heartbreaking losses. So the Rams and the Saints, I mean, they never recovered from that call in the game in New Orleans because the Rams dominated overtime. Heartbreaking losses.

There was an old saying years ago a coach told me, don't let a loss beat you twice. Like, get over it in this league. Do you think bad calls against Houston for New Orleans? They were griping about calls. Do you think that's in their head still against the Rams this week? No, it's over. I mean, I mean, did the, what was the play from the year before up there in Minnesota?

Did that carry over? That's how their season ended the year before. They obviously bounced back from that. So I don't think that. Sean's too much of a veteran coach. And Drew has seen so much that nothing's going to carry over. Now, all things aside, the question is how many St. fans in the Coliseum are going to be wearing officiating shirts and jerseys.

I don't think very many. I think that thing's all behind him now. Okay. Let's talk about, you know, I was saying with Chicago for years and years, I felt Chicago was a dysfunctional organization. I don't think that now. I think Matt Nagy's very clever. I think Ryan Pace is a bright guy.

I would not have traded up for Mitch Trubisky. I didn't love him as a college prospect, but who knows? I miss on these guys all the time. I thought Mark Sanchez would be a better pro, and it didn't work out. You know, you know Mike Dicca, you know Buddy Ryan, you know Chicago's history. I think sometimes we as media people or fans forget the dysfunction can be in organizations for years and years and years. Now, I don't think Chicago is. I do think they're on the right track.

What do you make of the Chicago Bears? They wouldn't let Trubisky talk this week at the press conference. They're like, don't. I mean, what am I supposed to make of that? Trubisky needs to put sunglasses and a headband on, and he'll be fine in Chicago. That's what they're looking for. They're all about their defense, and it's just one week. Let's not overreact.

It was an easy deal. Like you, I was really impressed with the Packer defense. I mean, they play good. Preston Smith. Yeah. Washington let him go. He can play. Yeah.

I mean, and, you know, coach is up there. I mean, Petton's been, he's been a good. good coordinator, and he can put together some plans. And let's keep in mind, Trubisky doesn't have eight years' experience, so let's not overreact to the opener. But if they're worried about what he's saying, then maybe there's something to that. If you worry about what your quarterback's saying at the press conference or you're trying to put words in his mouth, maybe you've got a problem.

Because I don't see the Cowboys doing that DAC. They put DAC out there with the anthem controversy. Talk about it. They trust DAC. Okay, Watchgate. OBJ. It's not the end of the world. Okay, nobody thinks that.

But when you come off, Joy said this earlier, it's a lack of self-awareness. Sometimes with athletes, it doesn't win or lose games, but when you lose by 30 at home and the NFL says take the watch off and you're like, no, I'm not going to take the watch. It'd be way better if you just beat New England. We'd give you the watch. I don't want my coach, whether it's Freddie Kitchens or Jeff Fisher, to have to answer watch questions. I don't love the watch thing by OBJ. I don't like the timing of it.

I don't like the optics. I don't like the lack of self-awareness. How would you address it? What would you do? I'd say, O'Dell, take the watch off. We win the division. Put the watch back on for playoffs and I'll pay your fine. But it's in the National Football League,

and I said this numerous times you hear it. You've got to treat everybody differently under the same set of rules. And so you've got to look at your rules. Okay, everybody's different. Everybody, you know, especially in this day and age and today's athlete, and with the social media and everything, there's a lot more of the eye, the me thing. I'm not saying that's where O'Dell's coming from, but just slow down a little bit and think about what's best for this team.

And that, I think, falls on the shoulders of the head coach. So head coach has got to communicate it. For all intents' purposes, they didn't probably, you know, Fray didn't even know he had the watch on. Right. Okay. Well, he does now. So be interesting to see how. that's handled as an organization.

We kind of got a feel for how it's going to be handled by the player. How's the organization going to handle this? Because the number one thing that's going to cost you games is distractions. And this is just another distraction. How do you eliminate distractions? If you can do so, you win football games. You know, it is interesting when you look at today's players. So I would say probably two years before you left the Rams, phones became.

noticed that about five years ago, I'd go to a restaurant and people wouldn't talk to each other. And it's only been about five, six years where I've really, really noticed that now I have a daughter where I try to combat the phone. Go to the point in your NFL career as a coach that you were like, wow, I got these phones everywhere, this social media stuff. Did you notice it near the end in St. Louis, Los Angeles? Yeah, we changed our, which completely changed our policy there. Years ago, your rule was no cell phones in the media. meeting room unless your wife is expecting the baby she goes into labor I want to hear the phone ring I want it to go off or you have it for because of family emergencies other than that it does not go off under any

circumstances well things have changed so what we got to is we we put the baskets in the hallway and don't bring them into the meeting rooms leave them in the hallway okay and you construct the coaches hey give them 20 22 minutes studies have shown that today's athlete today's individual really can focus on something without their minds going to the phone for only about 20 minutes. So get them on the board, do what you need for 20 minutes. Coaches, give them a five-minute phone break, walk outside, go in the hall, check your phones, all good, boom, back in the basket, and back in. Yeah, it's got to change. You have to do that because you don't want the mind, the brain on what's going on in the hall on my phone and not going, getting involved in what we're going to do on third one.

You know, the information you're passing on to them is really, really important, so you need 100% of their attention. That's fascinating. By the way, I heard one time, you did a study, for instance, this week, last week the Rams go to Carolina, early game. This week, the Seahawks go to Pittsburgh. It's a 1 o'clock game. That means it's 10 a.m. for Seattle. Betters in Vegas know this matters. I mean, they do.

Like, this is a thing. That's why I like Pittsburgh over Seattle this week. When you were coaching, didn't you go to studies on that and figure out? Yeah, we did research and we got our hands on some studies. One involved the Monday night game. And I believe it was a study that came out of Stanford. And so it only involved the West Coast teams and the East Coast teams. So kick out all the other time zones over 20 years.

Right. So it's that game that's played either in New York against the 49ers or in San Francisco against the Giants. 65% of the games were there about 66%. all the records aside and who's playing who were won by the West Coast team. So that's significant. And basically what that's telling you is that the team whose body clock is playing at 6 p.m. has a better chance of winning than the team is playing at 9 p.m. in your body clock.

It's a circadian clock. It's all those things. It makes total sense. So we took it a little further. And yeah, it is uncount. I heard people, you know, complain about, well, again, you know, I'm a huge. Rams fan for obvious reasons, but why did they go to Carolina and play at a 1 o'clock Eastern game in the opener? Well, scheduling stadiums, all that kind of stuff. It's good, but they're playing at 10 a.m.

their time, and that's hard. We used to have that saying in the room when we were the beneficiary of that is, hey, look, this team's really good. Don't wake to sleeping bear, man. They're playing at 10 o'clock. Don't wake them. You know, let's sneak up on them and get out here with a win and go on. Jeff Fisher joining us, a long time, 22 seasons in the NFL. You know, again, I don't want to overstate week one. But the breaking news today, Sam Darnold's out mono. That's probably a two-week issue. You want them out of the building.

They have an MRI, Levian Bell. C.J. Mosley is hurt. The schedule was tough anyway. Jeff, if I'm Gaddam Gase, boy, I am trying to sell that we cannot get humiliated Monday night. Could you lose players? If they get blown out Monday night against Cleveland, can you lose players week two?

Guys just are out. I don't think so. You know, you got a team. His defense had four turnovers in the game and they just couldn't hang on against Buffalo. Credit Buffalo last weekend. You got a team that's young, has got new players.

They're trying to figure themselves out. I don't think that Adam should be concerned about that. What they should put their, all their focus, all their attention on is just improving the young guys. If one player got better today on a practice field, then the team got better. That type of approach and not get consumed with the score and, you know, your opportunities to win games. Hey, there's a chance they play well. There's a chance Trevor can play.

I mean, that goes back to Denver days. I mean, that's why he's there. Adam knew him in Denver, I assume. And he likes him and feels like he can run around and make plays. They're going to find a way to run the football. And stranger things have happened. even though it appeared at his press conference that things weren't all looking good. He could have sold that a little better.

The body language thing, but that's Adam. We all love Adam because of that. But he's a ball coach. He'll get that scheme ready and he gets system ready. And, you know, Coach Williams is going to, he'll say, I can see him telling his defense right now. Hey, quarterback's out. We've got to score on defense. So find a way.

If we don't score on defense, we lose a game. It's your fault. That's interesting. Jeff Fisher, great seeing you. You too. Love having you on the show. Uh, joy with the nose. No.

No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So the Packers beat the Bears 10 to 3, not quite a thriller on Thursday, but they did have 213 yards of total offense. And Aaron Rogers said it wasn't as bad as it looked. His teammate, DeMonte Adams, sees a lot of room for improvement. I mean, there's no word with up, honestly. And I guess I came out, you know, not jump the gun, but I was a little,

optimistic, I guess you could say, which I don't even like to use optimistic because that sounds like there's a panic of some sort, which is not. But I was definitely excited for the offense. I thought we were going to move the ball a little better than what we did. But, you know, we got plenty of time. And, you know, we're going to go out there. We're handling things this week in practice to do it to make sure it looks how it needs to Sunday. I feel bad for a lot of teams that have to face the Bears. Yeah, in Soldier field. By the way, it's going to get tougher when the weather gets bad. Right. I mean, they're just, they're incredible to watch and they're solid.

I didn't feel the need to overreact to not seeing a lot of high-flying action from the Packers' offense. We know what Aaron Rogers is, that once he gets in the groove and what he's capable of doing. The one good takeaway from that game was that the Packers actually have a defense. And that's why I think the Packers are really dangerous this year. I think Aaron Rogers could potentially have an MVP-level season. I just think that this is a situation where he's finally capable of relaxing a little bit knowing he doesn't have to carry both sides of the ball. He has a solid defense.

He can keep them in games. There's no need for panic and having to be a hero every time. That makes a big difference. See, it's funny. I think Aaron's going to win 10 to 11 games. I don't think he'll have an MVP season because I think if you have to play Minnesota twice and Chicago twice, and that's a quarter of your schedule. Mike Zimmer is one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL. He's really good.

And the Bears defense is stacked. So I think Aaron's going to have a good year. But sometimes winning the MVP, like for instance, Tom Brady. So now he's got Miami twice. he's got two games and he already had a great game against Pittsburgh. Sometimes the MVP thing is, do I get a couple of gimmie indivision games to rack up? Yeah, but I don't know. I think at this point in his career, Tom Brady MVP, well, very much deserved.

Like, there's a little bit of narrative that goes along with the MVP as well. Nobody wants to really give it to him. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, again, he's going to have an MVP level season because it's Tom Brady. And like, I'm going to take a crazy one. Say what you want. Zeke, Randall Cobb, Amari Cooper, that offensive line, and Michael Gallup.

Don't be shocked by Thanksgiving, Dax's in the conversation for MVP. He probably will be. By the way, he's got a team washing that to a mess. And the Giants have the worst defense maybe in the league. Watch Dack put up. By Thanksgiving, Dack is in the conversation for MVP. Yeah. So the Ravens take on the Cardinals this weekend.

And Kingsbury's air raid offense was supposed to bring. something new to the NFL, but Ravens coach John Harbaugh doesn't think it's so groundbreaking. He said a lot of those plays have been run. There's nothing really new in football. When you say revolutionary, it kind of revolves back in a sense. That's the difference between revolution and evolution, right? That's complicated right there. I mean, you got to, you know, you got to follow.

What are you saying there? It's like Aristotle coaching the Ravens or something. It's shade is what it is. It's like, it's not quite an insult, but it's kind of like, honey, I've been here a while. It's not really that new. It's not that new. But he does have a point. And this is like

this is any industry, right? Like a lot of things have been done, just not done maybe to the level that they could be. Or you put a spin on something. You put a little spin on it or the person who came up with it had a revolutionary idea, but didn't quite have the talent to make it work. There's a lot of factors here with this. But

you made the point earlier. This only works if Kyler Murray works. And he's really the piece that's actually the evolutionary part of the system. Yeah, it's like Russell Wilson. We were never like fans of running around. And then he got to the Super Bowl and one, you're like, you know that running around thing's got a real,

and I always say running around works. It just doesn't last. So Russell Wilson was kind of a revolutionary player to me. Michael Vick. And in the first week, you know, the first three quarters, obviously we know what Kyler Murray did. He was very unimpressive. But the fourth quarter was a whole different story.

And that's why I'm really interested in this game. Because you have Lamar Jackson coming off of a... Oh, this is a great. This is a fascinating game. Yes. Incredible. Week one, obviously, against the Dolphins. So I do think the statistics are going to take a slight step back.

No discredit to Lamar Jackson, but that was obviously a disaster for the dolphins. But Tyler Murray put up the numbers that you needed to to keep them in that game, albeit it was a tie. How you end the game to me is more important how a rookie starts in his first three quarters. Finally, the Steelers are coming off a 30-point loss to the Patriots in week one. Big Ben reassured his teammates during practice that they will be okay. We're out doing our run and stuff. I say, guys, look up. So the sun still shining, the sky still blue.

The best thing is we still get to play on Sunday. It's not like all of a sudden we have to go back to the drawing board and start doing this, just scratching everything, crossing everything out, where do we go from here? It's just we all need to, starting with myself, play better. And it's nothing drastic on anybody's plate. It's just little things here, little things there. They do have a great O line. They should, I was disappointed in their lack of,

commitment to the run. They just didn't run the ball much. It's like James Conner at 1,200 yards, run the ball a little. I just don't know what I learned from the Steelers in that game. Like, I don't think all losses are created equal. Had they played a decent game or a great game and it came down to the last minute thing, had it been Texan Saints, you would have at least felt optimistic coming out of that game, you know, like, okay, patients still got the best of them, but that was a good game and a good sign out of the Steelers coming in to week one. But that was a faster performance by the Steelers. Not that I don't think they're still going to win the AFC North.

I still think they could make it somewhat in the playoffs. I don't think that they're a Super Bowl contender. But it's just, you wanted to see more out of the Steelers' week won. The New England's defense is also. It's probably their best defense of 10 years. Yeah, they're great. And we never talk about the Patriots defense. Their secondary is the best.

In my opinion, it's the best and the best coach in the league. They're corners. Gilmore. Stephong Gilmore's a stud. he's one of the top three corners in the league and they're so well coached when's the last time New England got beat over the top they never get beat over the top

We don't talk about the Patriots defense because we're always In the Brady. In the Brady. Now that secondary has been for the last two years. Last year and this year nobody gets separation on those corners and nobody gets deep. They do not give up any home run balls. It's really

and Belichick by the way has a great history with secondaries. They draft it well. They develop it well. It's bad. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. So, you know, I've been doing the Blazing Five forever, right?

This year I started Marquis 3. And the first couple of weeks, we've had these half-point games. They've been crazy. I love my college football picks. My Markey 3, you can win money. That is coming up next and best for last. Hey, listen, MDrive for Men.com. The code is heard.

Get 20% off your first order. Refind your prime. They have boost and burn M drive. One of the products in their line, burns fat, healthy testosterone levels are boosted MDrive for men.com. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise.

breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 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 rapidly. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing, and we're

still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

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

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Car shopping's confusing. A lot of terms. Dealer price, invoice. Don't let it be confusing. Go to Truecar.com. Three grand off MSRP. all the information, the fees, the accessories, so you're more confident when you have your car buying experience. So for years, I've been doing Blazing 5 and love doing it. And I used to pick

college games. And then Fox Sports Bet came and is part of our family now. And I said, let's do three great college games every weekend. And I'll try to pick games. I, you know, I went and looked through all the regions of the country. I have an SEC game, a Big 10 game, and a Big 12 game. And I really feel strongly about my picks. Now, college football is kind of hard to figure out in the first couple of weeks because we're all getting introduced to new 18 and 19-year-olds. Whereas in the NFL, we had a winning week. I kind of kind of know who I'm getting.

I knew the dolphins wouldn't be great. Some players, Lamar Jackson, are better than I think. But you kind of know in the NFL mostly what you're going to get. The coaches, the quarterbacks. But college football, now I really feel like I've got my guys. So we call this every Thursday at this time to end our show, my three college bets, we call it Markey 3, and here we go. Ready to make some sweet cash, Colin's going to give you his three sure bets for the

college football weekend. It's time for the Fox Bet Marquis 3, Arizona State and Michigan State. I'm taking Michigan State to win and cover minus 14. Arizona State starting a freshman quarterback, they'll be bumps. They were not good on the road last year. The story of this game, though, Michigan State. just had their best offensive performance in five years. They're always about defense. They led the Big Ten last year in every defensive category that mattered. Brian Leworky is the quarterback.

They played great and have this year on offense. Now, their defense allows only 12 points a game this year, minus three yards rushing per game. I never worry about their defense. They're one of the best coach defensive teams in the country. Scoring is an issue for them. This is a revenge game. Last year, Arizona's State. Herm Edwards, remember it? Shocked, Michigan State. I think they go on and win and cover. I'll take Sparty 33 to 17. Iowa and Iowa State. Upset. I'm taking Iowa State plus two and a half. They've won their last seven games at home. And they have a young quarterback that a lot of people like. The last 10 games he's played, Iowa State, always good at home, is 8 and 2. His name is

Brock Purdy. Now, he did not play against Iowa last year. Since he has played, they're averaging 31 points a game and 409 yards of offense. Here, this game's always close, by the way. So I love the points, and I love where Iowa State's going with their staff in Brock Purdy. Iowa, of course, Iowa, the big state school, they'll be missing their best offensive linemen who will be out for this game. I'm going to go Iowa State with an upset. Take the points. 30 to 24. Florida and Kentucky. Love Florida. Like it. I love it.

Okay, Florida's got the right coach, Dan Mullen. They finally got the right coach. And their offense is humming. They've had 500 yards have the Gators in four of their last six games with Felipe Franks. In fact, as a quarterback in the last six games, 70% completion percentage, 12 touchdowns, two picks. That's Dan Mullen. Dan Mullen's a great offensive coach. Here's the other thing I like about Florida.

Have you seen their pass rush? Yikes. It is SEC pass rush all the way. First in the country in SACS and Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson, who won at Florida last year, got hurt. And the kid that backs him up, Sawyer Smith, is not mobile. He is going to struggle with his pass rush. Now, it is in Kentucky. It's your classic SEC game with a big crowd.

So Florida won't play its best football game of the year. But I'm going to take them in that pass rush to give the backup quarterback. FITS 33-23-Gaaters. All of our odds brought to you by Fox Bet. I think, John, guys, may go 3-0 this week. Don't want to brag, but I got a good feeling about that thing. Very good feeling. Take Michigan State to win and cover.

Iowa State upset win, and Florida Gators to win and cover. Florida thing, that Florida game could get out of hand. Florida may roll them, but I think Kentucky will probably play well at home. They're well coach. Good first half. but it's nice to see the Gators finally got the quarterback right and the coach right, because that program, I've covered it before. When they get rolling, watch out.

There's a lot of talent for a state school in Florida. All right, the big story today, it started our show. Adam Gase, listen, body language is important. There are people out there called body language experts. And that's what they do. They can read body language. In fact, Joy talked about this the other day. She didn't love Kyler Murray's body language during the game.

It matters. I'm not saying that Adam Gase isn't smart. I think schematically he is. But this body language announcing that Sam Darnold's out for the week, you've got to do better than this coach. I mean, this is bad body language. 14 has mono. It won't be out for this game.

So Trevor will be starting. And Luke Falk will get elevated at some point and be the backup. So that would be that. I'm not asking you to be a traveling salesman here. I'm not asking you to be Tony Robbins. I'd like a little more optimism. I mean, there was a sigh, an audible sigh. So that's that.

Now, what about Belichick? When you got 19 rings, you know, you can do what you want. And I think this is, I think it ends the jet season. Trevor Simeon, by the way, is the backup. Trevor Simeon's capable. In fact, I just looked it up. He's 13 and 11 as a starter. It's a better winning percentage than Sam Darnold.

Trevor Simeon's a guy that John Elway found out of Northwestern, like a seventh round pick. He's a very good backup. Like Ryan Tannihill right now in the NFL is the best backup in the league. I don't love him as a starter. Trevor Simeon's a capable backup. But this organization, you are as good in life as what you inherit. Baker Mayfield inherited Freddie Kitchens, dysfunctional losing, high-maintenance owner. He's on his second coat.

They traded away a top offensive lineman. Now the Browns-O lines a mess. Last week's loss is not all on Baker-Mayfield. It's not, I said it then. Sam Darnold now inherited a team. He's on his second GM and his second coach. They did reboot the offensive line a little, but they did not address wide receiver or corner in the draft.

They let the outgoing GM handle the draft and fired him a week later. Made no sense. They had a good kicker. They let him go. special teams are a mess. You know, so this Sam Darnold, almost good for him, will not play this week. It bums me out because, you know, I'm into the Baker-Sam Darnold rivalry. I thought it was going to be a great Monday night football game.

I think Cleveland's better than the Jets, but I thought it was in New York. It's Monday night. Teams tend to play a little over their head on Monday night at home. So I thought you had a chance for a real football game. And Cleveland got embarrassed, so I thought they'd come just hair on fire. So we'll see how that works out. Jets are a mess. It should be noted, I'll say it again.

Of the five rookie quarterbacks, Lamar was the fifth taken. He's the one in the playoffs. He's the one that looks great. Now, Lamar deserves credit for that. But Josh Rosen, Arizona to Miami, nobody can win like that. I mean, nobody can win like that.

No rookie in the NFL can be a quarterback for Arizona, now Miami and win. Sam Darnold, Mono, mess, second GM, second coach, Baker last week. I thought Jeff Fisher made a really good point. When Greg Williams took over the coach spot last year, there was a high energy, it was fun, it was loose, they played with nothing to lose. Did that seep over that environment, kind of that mantra, that psychology?

Did it kind of seep over to week one where it was fun and it was loose and they weren't buttoned up? So the story today is Sam Darnold is out for Monday Night Football. Cleveland, by the way, Vegas has moved that line four points. So you may not like Sam Darnold. Vegas thinks he's worth four points. That's something over a field goal. So Vegas moved the line immediately. Blazoned 5. We'll see you tomorrow.

We had a winning week. MDrive4Mend.com boosts healthy testosterone and therefore burns fat, Walgreens, vitamin shop, right aid. They all have it. MDriveforMen.com. Refind your prime with MDrive. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

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