The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD – HOUR 1 – 49ers Have Problems, Bears Take A Big Swing?!, LeBron Still Face of the NBA

Episode Date: July 30, 2026

Jason McIntyre fills in for Colin Cowherd with bad news for the 49ers. He explains why championship contention window is coming to close and it’s already on display before the regular season begins. Fox Sports Football analyst Geoff Schwartz joins the show to tell Jason why the Bears should make a major move for RB Bijan Robinson and why Oregon is ready to contend for a National Championship.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia. A.A.O. Rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay. And we're the host of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart women's sports. We're breaking down the biggest headlines. Naomi Osaka, showing out. Shout us to you, Naomi. The viral moments. I've been obsessed with Kashan Rock's

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Radio in noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day in the Iheart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. We're back, ladies and gentlemen, it is the herd on a glorious Thursday morning. I am your host, Jason McIntyre, in for kids. Colin Cowherd, he's back soon. I know you can feel the excitement.

But until then, Rachel Nichols and I holding it down. We did not color coordinate. As you see on the screen, 49ers red. Rachel Red, Jason, my pink party shirt. It's Thursday. Start to feel it. Rachel, I know you saw Odyssey earlier this week. Any big news happenings with you on Wednesday?

Well, you know, I get Spider-Man tickets for Friday. So I'm all in it, Jason. I got everything. Some are movies. Absolutely. But I'm psyched about training camps starting. I love football. It's the reason I fell in love with sports. It's the reason I do this job. And just the idea that a football Sunday is coming soon is enough for me. It's been a long desert, man. It's been rough on the weekends. It has. We got a great show. Jeff Schwartz will be stopping by. He's at Big Ten Media Days. Hey, listen, Big Ten media days are happening. Big Ten dominating college football. But let's dive right into the NFL. Rachel mentioned training camps are underway. And, you know, football fans are starved. We haven't had football since February. Any kernel of information is like, hey, this is huge. This is massive.

You got coaches talking, players talking. You know, maybe one attention-starved individual owner is talking Super Bowl. I want to talk about the San Francisco 49ers because, folks, welcome to your season. Oh, my gosh. We are one week into training camp and 49ers fans are panicking. Folks, the injury list already looks like a CVS for. seat. It is so long and troubling. Niners fans, you've seen this movie the last two years. I'm going to get you started here. Free agent signing, Christian Kirk already has a calf injury.

Backup running back, Jordan James, broken ribs. Don't scoff at a backup running back. I'll tell you about Christian McCaffee in a minute. Okay. Ricky Pearsall, they draft Ricky Pearsall. The guy cannot stay healthy. He already has a knee injury. Did I mention coach Kyle Shanahan was in a nasty car accident and needed 40 stitches in his face, has a deep concussion, broken ribs. It's all very bad. And oh, by the way, Brandon Ayyuk, who's still on the roster, unfortunately, he was great, all pro. They pay him, he's injured, now he's disgruntled. You can find him on Instagram ranting about something or the other. 49ers fans, this is your season, and I regret to inform you, but it feels like, as boys to men famously said,

the end of the road, it does not look good. Now, listen, they've had a glorious run. 2019, they get to the Super Bowl, lose to the Chiefs in heartbreaking fashion. I remember that one. I had money on the Niners. They led in the fourth quarter. It was ugly.

It was ugly. And in a seven-year span, they made two Super Bowls. They lost to the Chiefs again in overtime. That was a devastating loss. They lost in two NFC championship games. I mean, guys, would you understand if I said I feel like the window is closed? And I'm not just saying closed ing, closed. You see George Kittle on the screen.

He's coming off in Achilles. Did I mention their big free agent signing was Mike Evans, who's about to turn 33, and just had an injury prone season with hamstrings, and a broken collarbone. Look at the list of Niners stars who were injured last season. Now, listen, on some level, Shanahan has to feel like he's Matt Damon in The Odyssey. How many trials and tribulations do I have to deal with? There's this substation nonsense. Two years ago, injuries derailed the season.

Last year, look at this. Proc Purdy missed eight games. My guy, Brock Purdy. Nick Bosa, 14, Warner, 11. Somehow, in magical fashion. Shanahan got these guys to win 12 games, and they want a playoff game. They won at Philadelphia. And it's like, wait a minute, despite all those injuries they still won.

Yeah, they did end the season losing 41-6 to Seattle in a game that was over literally in the first minute, the opening kickoff. So John Lynch is talking about the offense and how all these injuries, are they going to be able to hang? Here's John Lynch. We've always been an explosive team and probably fell off there a little. And so in your personnel, you go attack that. Mike Evans has been a tremendously explosive player. But I think the bigger approach, Larry, has been collectively, you know, because explosives come in a lot of different shapes and sizes.

I love what we were able to get accomplished this offseason. And now we've got to go to work and you've got to earn everything in this league. And explosives are no different. And they are an important part of football, limiting them on defense and going out there and being an incredibly explosive team on offense and on special teams. And, you know, we always focus on that, but there has been a heightened focus on that. Yeah, Mr. Explosive, Christian McCaffrey, awesome season, incredible, carried the team. Remember they, Matt Jones started like eight games.

McCaffrey was incredible. Unfortunately, he had 413 touches, guys. He just turned 30 years old. The last time he had 400 touches was year three with the Panthers. He was injured in the next season and only played three games. The magic number in touches, or it's, just used to be rushes was 370. Because McCaffrey's that new brand of running back, he's catching 100 balls and rushing 300 times.

So, listen, the injuries have been brutal. I don't know if the 49ers are going to be able to overcome them. And I will add this final point. Have you looked at the schedule? The 49ers have the most miles traveled this upcoming season in NFL history. This stat is unbelievable. They go through 58 time zones this year. The previous record was 42.

58 time zones. Now, the league kind of screwed them with two international games. Opener in Australia, later in Mexico City. I love me some Brock Purdy, and we will talk top 10 quarterbacks later. Newsflash, Brock Purdy made the list. Sorry, guys, he's that good. He carries them. Can he overcome this old team full of injuries and a lot of travel?

We'll see. All right, I want to move on to elsewhere in the NFC. and that is the running back situation developing between Jemir Gibbs and Bijon Robinson. Two of the elite backs in the league. It's weird. They both are doing something called a hold-in right now. They're at camp, but they're not participating. And it's strange because the similarities between these two is incredible.

So they're both 24 years old. They were both drafted in 2023. And you know how this game works. Whoever signs first is going to have the richest contract for a run. running back in NFL history, eclipsing, Sequin Barclay, blah, blah, blah. The next day, the other guy will sign for one million more just so he can be the richest running back in NFL history. That's how this game works.

But it's a weird game because these two guys are very similar. So since they entered the league, Robinson has more yards. Gibbs has more tutties. Robinson was first team all pro last year. So you would lean Bijan, okay, I'll give him a slight edge. Important, neither team made the playoffs. File that away for a moment, okay? Neither team with these star running backs made the playoffs last year.

And then we're having this discussion about, oh, do running backs matter? Well, I don't know, Sequin went from the Giants to the Eagles, was instrumental in helping them get to the Super Bowl, 2,000 yards, yada, yada, yada, running backs matter again. Okay, well, last year, the Patriots got to the Super Bowl with young running backs, who haven't been paid. The Seattle Seahawks, they're running back one MVP of the Super Bowl

and they just let them go. The Denver Broncos won 14 games, got to the conference championship, running back by committee. Like, you know, there are many ways to play the running back game. But this is where it gets interesting, okay?

Gibbs cannot leave the Lions under no circumstances. They cannot lose him. Why? Because they're a Super Bowl. team. Now, they're a fringe Super Bowl team, but they're definitely in the mix. The schedule is fortuitous. I gave them out yesterday in the over-unders. They could legitimately win that division. Gough, Amunra, Gibbs. It's an awesome offense, elite for sure. They're going to be in the mix.

We'll see about the defense. But Bichon Robinson is interesting, guys. I don't know what to make of the Falcons. They just got a new coach in Kevin Stefanski and someone on our morning meeting was like, yeah, the last time Stafansky made the playoffs in Cleveland, he had to be. like a bunch of different running backs and no major superstar due to a bunch of injury, Jerome Ford, if you remember that name was a factor. So it's like, Stefansky can make, you know,

lemonade out of some lemons. He doesn't have a quarterback right now. They're not, forget Super Bowl. I don't even know if the Falcons are a playoff team. And in a weak division, that's not a good sign. So I'm going to ask you this. Okay. If you're the Falcons, do you consider trading Bejjjou?

John Robinson. And this is why I think it could make sense. I know Falcons fans love Bijan. He's electrifying. How are you going to trade our biggest star? Well, let me ask you about this. Are they going anywhere in the next two or three years with Bejohn Robinson? I think the answer is no.

And I look at Christian McCaffrey in Carolina as a blueprint. First three years, he's awesome. Where did it get them? Nowhere. So he gets hurt the next two years and eventually Carolina decides, you know what? let's trade him. He goes to the Niners. They get a bunch of picks.

And wouldn't you know it a few years later, the Panthers actually kind of sort of were decent. Christian McCaffrey didn't get them to the playoffs, right? And then they make the move, get a haul of picks. I mean, this isn't the Hershal Walker deal we're talking about here. Those are not happening. But Bejohn Robinson is a superstar. And you wonder, is there a fit for Bejohn on perhaps a team?

I don't know with a coach who could use him in the run game. Is there maybe a rookie quarterback on the roster? And I'm looking at you, Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears. You guys remember Ben Johnson in Detroit, right? Had Jamir Gibbs. You saw what he did with Gibbs. Is there a world where Ben Johnson says, you know, we had a really good run game last year.

Despite, you know, offensive line concerns, a run game should be good this year. Do we give that run game jet fuel in the form of Bijon Robinson? Do we go out, make a splashy move? We do what the Rams do. Forget them picks. We're all in. Let's give up some future draft capital.

We got a great young roster. We had Bejohn Robinson to Caleb Williams, and it might be game over in the NFC North. That team would be a juggernaut. Now, I know the Houston Texans fans are saying, hey, we got room for running back. It's been an issue. maybe we bring him to the AFC but I do think Gibbs is not going anywhere

Lions are not moving off him but keep an eye on Bejohn Robinson with the Christian McCaffrey trade as the blueprint. They actually held on to McCaffrey too long and he was coming off injuries. Bejohn's right now, he could definitely fetch you

two first round picks for sure. And then if you're Atlanta and you're Stefanski you're like all right well we'll figure out the quarterback spot. Either way, we're building a roster Seattle Seahawk style and we'll plug in the quarterback at a later date. So keep an eye on the Bijon Robinson Holden. I think there's something

there. All right, folks. Dan Campbell actually talked about Gibbs wanting a new deal. We have that right here for you. You guys know how we feel about Gibbs and all of our guys, LaPorteur, brand, you know, and so we'll take this as it comes. This is, you know, this will kind of continue. It'll come as it comes. I think that's the best way to say it. And so, you know, this is this is both sides working through something. Yeah, like I said, Gibbs is not going anywhere. Bejohn Robinson, that's the name to watch. All right, coming up next here on the herd,

very interesting numbers in jersey sales recently in the NBA. A player moved teams. He sold a lot of jerseys, and you start to wonder, how do you define influence in the NBA? Is an old guy still very influential? That's next here on the herd. 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.

Hey, we're Kavino and Rich. Fox Sports Radio every day, 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern. But here's the thing. We never have enough time to get to everything we want to get to. And that's why we have a brand new podcast called Overpromised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two-hour show. We never get to everything. Honestly, because this guy is over-promising things we never have time for. Yeah, you blubberlips. Blame and me. Well, you know what? It's called Overpromise.

You should be good at it because you've been Oprah Promising Women for years. Well, it's a Kavino and Rich after show, and we want you to be a part of it. We're going to be talking sports, of course. But we're also going to talk life and relationships. And if Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it will continue on our after show called Overpromised. Well, if you don't get enough, Kavino and Rich, make sure you check out Overpromise. And also, uncensored, by the way. So maybe we'll go at it even a little harder.

It's going to be the best after show podcast of all time. There you go. Overpromising. And remember, you could see it on YouTube, but definitely join us. Listen to Overpromised with Kavino Enrich on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Encore. Check out our brand new episodes featuring music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry.

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My first thought is like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating? The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire timeline. And the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports. Naomi Osaka showing out, she beat Sabalinka. Shout out to you, Naomi.

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Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. You know us, or rather you know them. Tony and Candice, Nina and Lance, Spike, and yes, the chicken. We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia, AEO, rewatch, our brand new podcast. Each week we'll revisit a. an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches,

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including director Jonathan Chrysall, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song, a melody. I thought he was going to write. I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that.

Listen to Podlandia. Ayo rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. Every week, the news gets worse. The world gets crazier. And Yamanika is here to tell whoever's responsible, you're the problem. come over here to play games, I'ma check you. Okay?

If you do some in the news that don't sound good, I'm going to play you. Join Yomeneika Saunders as she breaks down the week's most problematic stories on her new podcast. You're the problem with Yamanika. Do you know I just found out who Sidney Sweeney was? New episodes weekly every Wednesday is part of my new network, the Dear Chelsea Network. If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of men. Do better or do less, so I don't have to do so much.

So join Yamanika each episode as she answers one question. Who's the problem? I'm Yamanika, and I'm out. Listen to You're the Problem with Yamanika on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Very exciting show today. Got Jeff Schwartz coming up short, later talk. Little college football, NFL, obviously Rachel with Heard Line. And second hour.

we got one of the most one of the top quarterback prospects in college football joining the show. I'll save you his name just as a tease which is always fun. All right, I want to quickly go to this NBA story. It looks like we're about to go 95% NFL on the show

but there is an NBA story that emerged this in the last 24 hours is kind of fascinating. So after LeBron went from the Lakers to Philly obviously, you know, Philly's putting out jerseys, gave LeBron number 23. According to Fanatics, in a 48-hour window, LeBron broke the record for jersey sales,

shattering the numbers put up by Otani when he signed with the Dodgers in 2023. Now, you might say, well, yeah, Philly's a big market. Guys, who's buying the jersey of a 41-year-old NBA player? Oh, wait, that guy's still one of the best in the league. So people want the LeBron jersey. Oh, I got it. Okay, that makes sense. And a media outlet put out, you know, the most, who's the face of the NBA?

I'm kind of sick of that discussion, but it is an interesting angle that LeBron with the Sixers now becomes number one. He was not in the discussion for number one before going to the Sixers. It was, oh, it's Wembe's League. It's Anthony Edwards. What about Dylan Brunson? Wemby. Oh, it's Wembe's the guy. Uh-uh.

I actually think this makes sense. LeBron is the face of the NBA right now. Guys, Janice, who was on that list, he went from the bucks to the heat and we talked about it for a day? Maybe two? I was like, okay, business as usual. Lamello Ball, who moves a ton of merch?

The young kids love him. He went from Charlottes, Minnesota, and it was barely a blip. LeBron announces he's leaving the Lakers, strings it out for three weeks, and it is everywhere. Podcasts, internet, TV, radio, massive story. Now, I was asking somebody, how do you measure influence? You know, I think it's a great question. You know, it's just, there's so many different answers.

Well, Jersey sales. Well, social media. Hey, this guy's got all these followers. He's got influence. Not necessarily. Influence is heavily measured by who is listening. Not just how many people you have listening. Who is paying attention?

You know what influence is? When the NBA president, Adam Silver, the commissioner of the league, Adam Silver comes out and says, LeBron, can you hurry up and pick a team? We've got to do the schedule. That's influence. The league ain't waiting on anyone else. Next summer you're like, oh, well, Curry could leave.

The Warriors, Curry might go to Charlotte. He could hold up the schedule. I love me some curry, my favorite player in the lead. I don't know that he's holding up to schedule. I did, by the way, look at followers for social media, and LeBron has 156 million, almost three times what Steph Curry has. So LeBron has the influence with the followers,

with the commissioner of the league, with the jersey sales. He is the face of the league. And again, I think this, who is listening matters so much. I mean, you've got a bunch of small, small potatoes. I bang on the chiefs here on this show for about six months doing victory laps over picking them to miss the playoffs. And then Andy Reid comes on the show and is like, yeah, McIntyre. That guy really fires me up. We're using him as motivation. That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. Like, that's influential. Cowherds

setting an agenda out here in sports media. Do you know how many shows there are? How many radio, TV, podcasts, not all of them have influence. LeBron is the guy. He has the influence in the NBA. He's got the juice. It is a fascinating situation to have a 41-year-old still playing at this level and still commanding the league. I don't remember fully maybe Rachel Wood, the Michael Jordan Wizards years. He was terrible, right?

I was right out of college. I was partying, like, I wasn't paying attention to Jordan's sad sack wizards who couldn't make the playoffs. Was he dominating influence? I don't totally remember. But I'm just telling you guys right now. You can hate LeBron all you want. That's fine. I don't care. You love him. You hate him. He's the goat, folks. He is. Let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. When a guy changes teams, like LeBron James, Michael Jordan did sell a lot of wizard's jerseys. I'm not going to speak to what happened on the court. But when he came back, let me tell you, those jerseysies,

sales went crazy. And yeah, LeBron's going to be the face of the league until he's retired. And by the way, a little bit afterward. Oh. We talk about Patrick Mahomes as maybe being the face of the NFL right now. If you asked a random person in India who is the face of the NFL, they're still going to say Tom Brady. That stuff carries for a while when you've done that much. LeBron's done that much. Let's get over back to the NFL, though, because we've got a guy who maybe the team is the team-face. of the league. Dak Prescott not yet to face the league himself, but he does have Super Bowl aspirations for the Cowboys.

He's talked about that, a little controversy over this week. And according to Tacker tackle Tyler Gutten, Dak has coined a new slogan for the Dallas offense as well. Take a listen. Last year doesn't define us this year. So, you know, we're trying to rewrite the whole script. You know, we got a new identity as far as, you know, our run game goes, past game and everything.

What's the identity? Fast, physical, violent. imposing our will on opponents, you know. Dak has a new saying, Gadi, you know, greatest offense there is, so that's the standard for us. That's that saying for y'all. Godi, asking about it.

Godi, Gidey, Gaitin, Gouton, you know, it's all the same thing. No, Gadi is the new nickname for the Dallas offense, but I think it maybe should be Scotty because they actually were the second best offense in yards last year, seventh in total points. I don't know. Look,

close. They're very close. Do you have a problem with Dak typing up his guys like this? No, I would just say, you know, fewer slogans, more wins, if possible. Like, if slogans are fun and catchy, you know, you're going to go viral for it, but, I mean, Dak's

doing his part, right? Yeah. Look at the numbers on the screen, they don't lie. He's delivering offensively. Obviously, trading Michael Parsons did backfire now. I don't know. Is there a world where the defense is good and Dallas somehow gets 10-11 wins, surpassing your Washington Commanders and maybe the Eagles and they get to the playoffs and win a game.

I mean, anything feels possible, right, Rachel? Well, first they got to get past Collins Giants, so, you know, give that there. Look, obviously, DAC has done his side. He is getting older, and there have been some questions through this training camp of, okay, only Matt Stafford really is leading teams at, he's older than DAC, but at the age deck is that. I think there's only four quarterbacks in the league, Dax age or older. two of them are on complete non-playoff teams.

The other ones are DAC and Matthew Stafford. You know, so maybe Dak's trying to hype himself up too, say, hey, I can still get this done. I like it. I like Gotti. It has more of a ring than Scotty. Scottie. Yeah, slight. By the way, it's funny, Mike Vrable in New England had a very tumultuous offseason, as we know.

Okay. Dak Prescott as well had a tumultuous offseason. Not as much chatter in Dallas about that. And it's your quarterback. He's a star. Yeah. I mean, I don't mentally, where is he at? That kind of stuff, I know people want to brush it off.

We're going to hype up the Herbert situation. We got to at least, you know, say like, that's a question mark for that. Not a huge one, but it factors in a little bit. Does it not? He seems fine. I mean, the offense is pretty stable over there. They've returned just about everybody, right? Everybody's healthy.

I'm going to knock on every surface here in the studio because, you know, how NFL injuries are this time of year. But, yeah, I mean, I think they get a second, you know, offseason under shoty. I feel like they're in good shape. The question is the defense. They added so much to that side of the ball in the off season and we'll have to see if they can come together. Jerry's talking Super Bowl.

Dax talking Super Bowl. You know Dallas radio down there is talking Super Bowl. I forgot, Rachel. I forgot this. Last year, if I told you in, what is it, this is July, if I told you July 25, hey, the Jags are going to win 13 games. Yes. You would have been like just STFU, get out of here.

You know, a moron. Yeah. they want 13 games. So, like, the NFL is crazy like that. Like, I mean, I don't personally see 13. But, you know, maybe someone will clip this off and just hold it. And then if they do win 12, hey, J.Mack was kind of in the ballpark, even though I wasn't. I don't think they're going to stiff that.

I think they will be better than they were last year. I do. I mean, at least they paid attention to the right side of the ball. Remember, at this time last year, too, we were just even in the middle. It wasn't even the end. It was the middle of the Michael Parsons drama. Remember, he didn't actually leave until September. So, you know, I think that they are in a more solid place.

I like that Dag is hyping up as guys. We'll have to see. Look at that schedule. So the first two, they better win. I mean, you need a 2-0 there because Ravens Texans. Well, you need a 1-0, certainly. And then two will always be a big game. Ravens Texan's tough.

Bugs, they should win, but at the Packers ain't going to be easy. At the Eagles back-to-back is hard. I mean, you know, you see Seattle a little down the road. You see Rams. We'll see where the Niners are. That is not, oh, five prime time. that right? Yeah, that's the Cowboys, man. As I said, LeBron's still the face of the NBA.

Cowboys are still the face of the NFL around the world to a lot of people, regardless of what happens. Yeah, should they be? Oh, no, the staff is now telling me six primetime games. But, I mean, we do this every summer. Should the Cowboys still be the face of the league? Like, I don't. Those are two, should they and are they are two different things. One is marketing, one is success, right?

So, globally, I still think they are. Those cheerleaders have something to do with it, too. Don't click on that. That show. By the way, that show is pop. My daughter's trying to watch that. I'm like, turn this nonsense off. Absolutely not.

But if Timothy, I'm sorry, Tim Shalomey watches the show and recognizes the cheerleaders, maybe it's okay, you know, for a teenager to watch it. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I'm going to hold on your standard of Tim Shalameh is your moral compass. Wait, do your daughters watch that show? Okay. No. But if anyone does, that's fine.

That's fine. That's fine. I'm just saying Timothy Shalabay is not the moral compass of my house. He might be. Dune three coming in on. No. No. I do want to stay in the NFC East though and talk a little bit about the Eagles.

And their quarterback is the first training camp without A.J. Brown since 2022. Just because someone is out of sight, though, Brian, it does not mean they are out of mind. Before taking questions from the media for the first time, Jalen Hertz opened with a statement about how the team has gotten closer. And maybe he was taking a shot at his former teammate in here. Maybe he wasn't. You judge. Take a listen. 100%.

alignment and zero entitlement. You know, I'd say one of my main points coming in, especially talking to my teammates and getting a sense of where we are throughout the summer and where we're going is just the importance of discipline and unity. And, you know, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to carry and protect

the intimacy of this team and what we do because it takes all of us. I mean, if I'm AJ Brown listening to that, I'm quoting Beyonce, say my name. I mean, it was everything but the word brown in there. But I don't know. What do you think? Do you think that they can have any more drama-free season this year without AJ there?

Do you think that that's going to help them on the field? Yeah, yeah. That's a great line, Beyonce. But hold on. Let's back this up. First of all, Jalen Hertz with the mustache. And it was very groomed. Did he not look like a movie star?

Very groomed. Yeah. I mean, that guy looked like he was straight out of central casting. So that's number one. Number two, Rachel, you've done a lot of these press conferences. You said something they're interesting. He opened with a statement. This isn't week four and you come out and talk about the game.

This is July and Jalen Hertz, who offers nothing to the media, comes out with a statement and talks about zero entitlement. I mean, I think this is undeniably a shot at A.J. Brown. I don't think there is any question about that. Look, Jalen Hertz has had to hear a lot this off season. big, big, very researched, very heavily quote-heavy story came out about him from ESPN in the spring talking about, you remember this, talking about how, you know, he was a problem on the team, that he was inflexible, that everything had to be his way, that the offense was limited because of him.

Obviously, there was pushback immediately from the Eagles on that, but what lingered was this is a put-up or shut-up year for Jalen Hurtson that maybe he would be in trouble in some way if he was not able to deliver more this season. And it's very obvious from the way Howie Roseman has been signing people right and left. They're putting a lot of money into this team, especially along the defensive line. They have Super Bowl aspirations for this year. And I guess maybe he wanted to set the tone. I mean, I don't know. Devonza Smith, much quieter guy.

Not going to be saying, why aren't I getting all the catches? So they're very different receiving corps this year too. Yeah. So the entitlement was one part of the quote. Wasn't there a second part that was also a bit of a bit of it? They were all united. We're 100% on the same page. that kind of thing.

I mean, these are jabs. These are jabs. I think that's under, and that's not really in the character of Jalen Hertz, right? It almost feels like, finally, I'll load off my shoulders. Now I'm going to pop off

and say whatever I want. Because that guy's out of the building. This is a little bit like we were talking about last week. Everyone's competitive in the NFL. Everyone has pride in the NFL, right? And there is a point where if you push anyone too far, and I think Jalen Hertz has felt in the last few years, he has been pushed too far,

not only by A.J. Brown specifically, but all of the criticism that is, engendered and carried over all the unnamed sources, all the sort of, oh, Izzy, all the whispers, all the that, that, that, the this. You're the one who's the poster boy in this show for saying, how come people are not saying just Super Bowl champion

Jalen Hertz every time they say his name? Well, they don't, Jason. And I think this was him, just, you know, that pride shows up. I don't care how mild Leonard you are or how much you keep it all inside. At some point, we know how it works. By the way, Rachel, that just reminds me. So Rich Paul said a lot of stuff about

Luca and Austin Reeves' veiled comments. might have been from LeBron. What is going to happen when Lakers Media asks Austin Reeves? Are they going to say, well, it's a lot more chill around here, you know, a lot less noise or whatever. And it's going to be about LeBron. I mean, that's probably going to happen this fall, right? Well, you won't hear any of that from Austin Reeves. You sure?

I know he loves LeBron, right? Not just that, but he just, Austin is just one of the most happy-go-lucky guys I have met in sports. He doesn't hold a lot inside. When you saw him on the golf course when he signed his contract, and he's like flopping all over the place. He undrafted guy from Arkansas, very happy to be here, knows and appreciates his entire history and how lucky he was to get to play with LeBron.

Luca, you know, different story, not because he's a bad guy, but just obviously grew up in a very different way. You know, he, like LeBron, was told from a very early age. Luca was told at age 11 when he was signed to a pro contract from Barcelona, one of the greatest sports organizations in Europe. Hey, you are going to be one of the greatest. ever. So yeah, does Luca feel

a certain kind of way about having it be his team now? We're going to have to find out. I don't know. Austin, I think you're going to just hear, this is great. It's going to be very happy. But it's interesting you mentioned Rich Paul, because our next story talks about him as well.

Everyone is still processing the LeBron to Philly News, right? There's been debate, though, about whether this blockbuster starting lineup on paper can really dominate in real life. Las Vegas has weighed in, Jason, they're saying that they have the third best odds.

They're tied with the Knicks, right? And, oh, man, you know, is this going to be the team that dominates the East? Well, it's interesting to hear what Rich Paul has to say. This is not what you'd expect. Take a listen here. Paper versus play is two different things.

Paper is the paper. You have to play. So, again, I think I don't think they're the favorites. I think they'll be a tough out, but I don't think they're the favorites. In year one, they're probably. not the favorites in year one. But they're among the favorites. Yeah. Look, anytime you add LeBron to any basketball team, they're going to be among the favorites. So fascinating. You would

never otherwise hear an agent with two players in a starting lineup of a team go on media and say, oh, no, no, no, they're not the favorites. I wouldn't say they're the favorites. They're not the favorites. Other teams are better than them. This is very, very unusual. I assume that they're This is trying to tamp down Jason some of the ring chasing criticism that we've heard of like, oh, he just went to a favorite. And then now, okay, therefore he's just trying to chase a ring. Do you take it that way or do you think it's something else? It's definitely a game.

They're playing a game here. And if the reports are true that LeBron's working on some kind of last dance documentary, what better sound bite before they go win the championship? Oh, these guys aren't the favorites? They're not the best team. It just, Rachel, it works out perfect. All right. Rachel, with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. All right, coming up, I'll grill Jeff Schwartz, my guy. Bejohn to the Bears. Does that make sense? Do you like that? We'll do some college football as well.

He loves him some Oregon Ducks. Talk about that next year on The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. You've heard the chaos. Now you can see it. Hello. My gosh. Watch all your favorite podcasts from start to finish.

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Search video podcasts and tap watch. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up y'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay. And we're the host of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I heart women's sports. Because let's be real.

Women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days. So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii. My first thought is like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating? The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments to take over your entire timeline. And the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports. Naomi Osaka showing out

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Listen to everyone watches women's sports On the IHeart Radio app Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast Hey Portlandia fans Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here You know us or rather you know them Tony and Candice Nina and Lance

Spike and yes the chicken We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia, AEO rewatch, our brand new podcast. Each week, we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process. How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Chryssel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here.

You fully improvised, not just words, but a song. Well, I thought he was going to write. I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia. Ayo rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jake Brennan. And on the Disgraceland podcast, I explore the wild lives of rock stars and unbelievable true crime stories from music history.

These are the stories you haven't heard, the kind you'll end up telling someone else. Like the time Paul McCartney spent in one of the world's most notorious prisons. Imagine that. You're Paul McCartney. It's 1980. You're an ex-beetle. And you're doing time in one of Japan's worst prisons right there alongside Yakuza gang's and for a ridiculous charge.

Or the bizarre crime, Lady Gaga is accused them. Who is the artist Lady Gaga as being accused of doing the unthinkable to after allegedly stealing her music in style to become famous? And what about that time, Blondie's Debbie Harry escaped a serial killer? The man who had given her that ride she barely escaped from was Ted Bundy. Listen to Disgraceland on the Eye Heart. Art Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back here on the herd, our next guest, he is incredible when it comes to football, college,

and the NFL. Let's bring in Jeff Schwartz, Fox Sports Analyst. How we doing, Jeff? You enjoying Big Ten Media Days? Good. It's football season. Yeah. Oh, yeah, man, it's football season.

There's nothing better than this. Do you love the coach speak there? Is it getting crazy? What's the early read from you? All right, so I'm fortunate enough to do radio here, and the coaches are very candid with us, which is great. We've done this years in a row now, so I know who we are. And so the coaches just kind of talk about their teams, man. You can tell which coaches are excited, which are not, which is kind of, when you do it long enough, you figure it out.

So, you know, a lot of pressure on Oregon to win this year. Six is excited, obviously, for the funniest championship. Ryan Day knows how good they are, so a lot of fun this year. Yeah, all right. We'll get to college in a moment. We'll go to the NFL. One of the big stories right now is this Bejohn Robinson, Jamir Gibbs hold in.

They both won new deals. They want to reset the running back market. My view is obviously Gibbs is going to return to Detroit. He's not going anywhere. But Bejohn Robinson's interesting, especially if we look at the Christian McCaffrey parallel in Carolina. They were going nowhere fast. They end up trading him, getting a haul,

and it helped them fortify their roster. They just made the playoffs. I'm wondering, do you see a world where Atlanta, spinning their wheels, going nowhere, says maybe we move off Bejohn, get a bunch of draft picks. Maybe you get two firsts. I mean, he's still in his prime, first team all pro?

What do you think? So I'm a big fan of a running back addition to your team or a draft pick. If you have the quarterback and everything else in place, right? So when you're set at quarterback and you add the running back, we saw with McCaffrey to San Francisco. We saw with Sequin Barclay to Philly. We saw with Gibbs to Detroit, where they had the offensive line and golf. And they can supercharge your offense, right? Yeah.

Right now Atlanta, Pennix is hurt and recovering. Two was out. They just signed Cooper Rush to play quarterback. they're going through feels like a roster transition. Keeping Bejon, as good as he is, he's a fantastic player, doesn't really get him to their end goal, right? They're years maybe away from being good enough a quarterback to really use a running back in that way.

Set him to the Bears, right? Look at the Bears right now. Like, they have the offense align, the wide receivers, the tight end, the quarterback, the coach. You had a running back like that and supercharged the offense. So I'm with Atlanta exploring a trade here. It makes sense just the way I would want to build my roster. And they're just, they're not in a quarterback.

They don't have a quarterback in the future right now. Most likely it's not going to be penics. So get rid of Bejohn, get draft picks. They, you know, they obviously lost the first round picking this draft for James Pierce. They just need more, any better players. So make that trade. 100%. All right, let's go to Baker Mayfield.

Jeff, he is, it's crazy that Tampa just decides, yeah, we don't want to extend you. Sorry, you're going to play out your deal. Baker got them to the playoffs. Three of the last four seasons, I believe. He has as many playoffs wins as Dak Prescott, whatever that means. But it's like, really? I mean, Baker's saying he feels undervalued.

I know Todd Bowles is on the hot seat and Tampa kind of cratered at the end of last year, but are you surprised by this? I'm not. It does feel like this is the end of this run with Baker Mayfield after this season. Obviously, Mike Evans departing maybe was the start of that. But they're tying coaching quarterback together, right? So if you end up having the season that you think you're going to have, maybe keep everyone.

If not, it sets up to where Baker can go, your coach can go, and you bring a new coach and a new quarterback. I mean, look, Baker may feel last season, I've enjoyed watching him on the documentary that they had out there, but he's getting older, right? He's getting more beat up. You saw last season they cratered at the end of last season. Why are they going to pay a quarterback that seems to maybe be a little bit on the downward? The coach, maybe the downward a little bit as well. Why time together for a couple more scenes? It does feel like this is a sort of a prove-a-year for those guys.

if you're not able to win the vision again, the Saints have gotten better, right? The Panthers have gotten better. So I think it makes sense to just say, look, let's wait and see if we play well this year. Maybe we'll award everyone with contract sessions, but it does feel like this could be the end of this sort of Baker-Millafield run in Tampa Bay after the years over.

I mean, they move off Mike Evans, Levante, David, two veterans, and now Vita Vaya wants out. Just a weird vibe. I actually think Baker would fit perfectly in Pittsburgh with Mike McCarthy next year when Aaron Rogers is gone. Remember, McCarthy and Dak Prescott, that was an amazing pairing. I think Baker's still probably a top 18 quarterback in the league, and he's not paid like it.

He's paid less than Daniel Jones and some of these other guys. I'm like, I don't know. Are you low on Baker? No, he deserves to get paid better than those guys. I hate the Pittsburgh idea. Pittsburgh has got to finally invest in a top quarterback draft pick. It is time to do that. It's time to finally go ahead.

and however you get there, whether that's not being good this season, which is unlikely in drafting with us trading up. Like, Baker Mayfield just is another run of quarterbacks for them that make no sense. No, look, Baker Mayfield deserves the money. He deserves more money. But what you deserve doesn't mean you're going to get in the NFL, right? The leverage tends to go on the team of the situation. And I understand he's upset.

I was surprised he was so vocal with that with his disappointment the last couple of days. I get he's trying to put pressure on the team. He's not going to sit out. He wants to win. he deserves more money. Absolutely. Maybe they decided a one-year deal or just give him a little more money this season to make him happy, but I'm not surprised he hasn't got a long-term contract.

Well, I don't think he wants that. I think he wants to get a long-term deal, because if he gets hurt this year, he's got nothing, you know, and he plays a reckless brand of football. All right, let's go to Fernando Mendoza. I'm so fascinated by this story. The Raiders have decided that Kirk Cousins is their guy. Much like the Atlanta Falcons going nowhere with Bejohn,

he ain't going nowhere with Kirk Cousins. I would put Mendoza out there, obviously assuming he doesn't look like total garbage. garbage in camp. We haven't seen much footage of them. There's no stats really that I've seen. So they're kind of keeping stuff a secret. Mendoza famously cooked your Oregon Ducks to the tune of five TD passes in the college football playoff. Thank you.

Listen, I love Mendoza. I don't know where you are, but I'm just curious, your thoughts on cousins at Mendoza. And when you were in the league, was there any situation where there's a veteran versus the number one pick on your roster? Look, I think ideally you would always love to let the number one pick sit as long as possible, right? And the most ideal world of all time, but this is not the most ideal world of all time, right? Like, these guys have got to play, and you have to figure out whether they're your guy immediately to build around them. And when you think about times where quarterbacks have sat for a while, right, Mahomes did it, but Alex Smith had a, as best he's of his career, right?

Like, he played great. Obviously, Jordan Love sat beside, you know, behind Rogers. This is cousins. You're sitting behind a guy with no future whatsoever to make your team better. And the only way this team will get better is to play Mendoza early in his career, let him figure out, let him have the bumps and bruises. And you want to see improvement over every quarter of the season, right? So the second quarter is better in the first quarter. The third quarter of the season is better than the second quarter.

And by the fourth quarter of the season, the last four or five games, obviously there's one game extra now, so it doesn't work perfectly. He's at the point where he's your franchise guy. You know what you need to build around him. So playing cousins to me makes zero sense whatsoever. I get ideally. Ideal world, you love to do it. I get it. Play Mendoza, man.

Like, we saw last season how ready he is for the NFL. Let him play early on and let him go through his bumps and breezes. All right, let's go to college football. We'll start with Oregon. We got an Oregon staffer here, a guy on staff from Oregon, who is like, we're winning the title this year. I love them. I mean, listen, Dante Moore is he the best player in college football?

I will just say, Jeff, I liked him a lot for the Jets. And then I saw some shaky-ish performances in high-leverage games last year that made me question. But I don't know, your thoughts on Dante Moore. I don't want to use this entire time up on Dante Moore. But, you know, the first Indiana game was a little bit rough. I think the rest of the season was absolutely fine. You look at what he did against Iowa with no wide receivers. That's part of the story is that back half of the season, they had three scholarship wideouts for many games in a row.

And you look at the championship game. He threw one bad pass early on, right? the out that was picked off. And he was finally the rest time against Indiana. Texas Tech was a big part of the offense line was a problem. And I like his decision to come back. He showed maturity throughout his career, right? Sat one year at Oregon behind Dylan Gabriel.

I think it's refining those little moments, right? He said he put on 15 pounds, which is great. I don't consider him a runner. You've seen highlights right now. He can run the football. The question for Oregon is really the offensive coordinator, right? They elevated Drew to be the offensive coordinator. You know, he replaces Will Stein.

That's a big job for him. And it's just a couple moments of the year when you're really going to tell the difference at USC at Ohio State. But this team, I know when I say it's championship robust, people will say, well, Oregon's been that way before. There's a difference between saying that and actually believing that and having the roster to do so. They brought back their entire defensive line. Their entire defensive line are top 100 draft picks, including Amari Washington in the first round pick. You know, they brought back their secondary, which is young, but second best in the country. They brought back tied in number one, Jamari Johnson.

They got Dante Moore. They have two, three running backs. They're really good. They might have the best wide receiver room in the country by the time the season has done. It's a supremely talented team. They just have to be better in rematches. They were bad against Indiana and a rematch, Ohio State, and against Washington. Like, that's been their bugaboo.

The rematches have been a problem. But Dan Linnick's 39, man. Like, he's a young coach. He'll figure out. Oh, my gosh. All right. Jeff Schwartz, live from Big Ten Media Days. All right, Jeff, man.

And looking good, buddy. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you. Take care. Thank you, bud. Yeah, yeah. Jeff Schwartz. Good stuff.

Former NFL offensive linemen. Obviously, a former Oregon duck. Did you hear that breakdown? Oh, my gosh. I mean, rattling. Now, I will say tight end one. Well, I thought the Jets drafted Oregon's tight end one. I don't know.

All right. Coming up. Oh, I'm excited for this, folks. So next hour, Bryce Underwood, the Michigan quarterback. The $10 million man, apparently. one of the highest tout of recruits in recent years. He's going to be joining the show. And someone compared Kurt Signetti to Babe Ruth.

He's the Babe Ruth of college football. I love that. Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. The Dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form. We're launching Podlandia A.O. rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters,

and pulling back the curtain on how it all got me. made. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guestr, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Chryssel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song. Well, I thought you were going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia. A.O. Rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up y'all? It's your girl, Sam J. And we're the host of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart Women's Sports. We're breaking down the biggest headlines. Naomi Osaka, showing out.

Shout out to you, Naomi. The viral moments. I've been obsessed with Kashan Rock's boxing journey. She looks good. Her combos are swift. And the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's sports on the IHeart Radio app.

Apple Podcast. wherever you get your podcast. I'm Nick Terturo. You probably know me from NYPD Blue, the longest yard, or Spike Lee's Black Klansman. And on my new podcast, delivering happiness with Nick Titoro,

I deliver pizza to a new guest. I've shared a slice with everyone, from Seth Rollins. What are you doing my belt? To Bill Burr. I don't think I've ever met somebody so exactly out of their mind as I am. And now, we even have more great guests coming up,

including the great John Tituro. It's called Happiness, delivering happiness. and many, many more. Open your free high-heart radio app. Search Delivering Happiness with Nick Tuttle. And listen now. I'm Jake Brennan, and on the Disgraceland podcast,

I explore the wild lives of rock stars and unbelievable true crime stories from music history. These are the stories you haven't heard, the kind you'll end up telling someone else. Like the time Paul McCartney spent in a notorious prison or the bizarre crime Lady Gaga is accused of, For that time, Blondie's Debbie Harry escaped Ted Bunny. Listen to Disgraceland on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.