The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Another wild week in the NFL, the Broncos 7 game win streak, the Raiders actually pursued Geno Smith

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

 Colin Cowherd breaks down another wild week in the NFL! Despite a 7-game winning streak, Colin explains why he’s still concerned about the Denver Broncos and rookie QB Bo Nix after their Thursday Night Football win over the Raiders He talks about the complete disfunction of the Las Vegas Raiders by them actually pursuing Geno Smith instead of Sam Darnold This weekend will be a huge game for Minnesota Vikings QB JJ McCarthySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. Jench who win?

She's an outsider to win the French name. and she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

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

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We're in Los Angeles. It is The Herd, wherever you may be. However, you may be watching or listening, thanks for making us on a Friday part of your day, Blazing 5, hitting on a 58%. clip. That's like what mob guys do. I mean, that is really rolling. Fifty-eight percent clip. Blazing five in one hour. Urban Meyer college football talk in a couple hours. Well, Jay Mack, I know it was windy. Oh. In Denver. But 10 first downs and 11 penalties. Not great for your guy. Not great for Bo Nix.

So if Sean Payton is your head coach, PFF says you have the best offensive line in football, it's the Raiders defense, you have two very capable running backs, good wide receiver court, great, I don't know, good. You got to do better than 10 first downs. Right now, this team has 10 more punts this year than Cleveland. In my opinion, Bo Nix looks nervous. That's why he's so bad in the first half. It's like he's trying to please Sean Payton. Feels the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He is nervous. Side-arming stuff. Feels rushed when he's not rushed. Skipping balls out of the back field. Like I get throws downfield. We're tough last night for both quarterbacks. It was windy. Denver gets that way.

We're moving into the winter. But it shouldn't look like that. He looks nervous. He looks like he's got a lot of anxiety. and he only plays well most of this year in the fourth quarter when he trails and has nothing to lose. He just lets it go. Sean Payton now is trying to protect Bo Nix, and so he's making some odd compensation calls like that double pass on third and one. It's just a bad call. Well, Sean Payton didn't get dumb. He's trying to protect him. He knows that Bo Nix is not right

upstairs. Because this Raider defense hasn't made any quarterback look that bad this year. So the Broncos have one touchdown in their last 17 drives. They have more three-and-outs than the Titans. Yeah. So I'm dead serious here. Sean Payton is a very impatient guy. He also understands the urgency at quarterback, unlike a lot of coaches in this league.

I wonder, because the roster, the O-line set, the D-line set, the pass rush, the receivers, would Sean Payton draft another quarterback? I'm dead serious. Bo Nix has regressed badly. His completion percentage is now towing that backup quarterback line from 66.5 to 60. His passer rating has plummeted. Mid-90s to mid-80s. He's going to have more turnovers this year.

Again, he is a significantly worse quarterback this year than last. And I understand, quarterback development is not linear. I think it was Peyton Manning, who suddenly had a really bad fourth year in the league. I get it, you lose a coordinator, you lose an offensive lineman, but this old line's great. And we thought with Bo Nix, he was one of these high floor, low ceiling guys. We knew he didn't have like Caleb Williams' horsepower, but he was a high floor guy. At worst, he'd be like B, B-ish. This is B-ish.

That O-line, that play caller, those running backs, and remember this. Denver's defense is staggeringly good and aggressive. So Bo Nex, on average, is getting much better field position than quarterbacks in the league. I mean, last night, you're getting really good field position. So I've gone from a buy to a hold to a potential sell on Bowen. next. I got seven straight weeks of this stuff. And that last night was a problem. And Denver's

had an easy schedule. So now Kansas City comes up off a buy. I don't care what the number is. Take the chiefs. Because this is a problem that's not getting better. We got Defcom 3 here. What's Defcom 3? Increased readiness?

I really look at this and I wonder if Sean Payton is talking to George, the GM, and saying, you know, we got a stack roster here. don't have a lot of needs. You know, there's like seven quarterbacks in the first couple of rounds. We may want to roll the dice on them and sit them behind Bow for a year. I think you're to that point over and over and over.

I mean, if you put Josh Allen, Lamar, Herbert, Mahomes, I mean, there's like seven, eight quarterbacks, golf behind this group, this coach, this line. Look at that offensive line. He'd be blowing people out. I mean, the Raiders are a lost franchise. Here's Bo Nix after a messy performance. He'll win a lot of games with a defense playing like that. And then tonight we had a little spark with some special teams plays.

And then, you know, we just, at some point, we got to start moving football and scoring points. I've been booed before and I'll be booed again. So not going to be the last time. It's obviously unfortunate. You don't want your own fans booing you, but, you know, it's part of it. Yeah, I know the wind was bad. It wasn't that bad. Let's talk Raiders briefly. When you pursue Gino Smith, the Raiders gave up a third round pick and paid him 66 million guaranteed.

The Seahawks got Sam Darnel for no picks. He was a free agent and only pay him 55 million guaranteed. Seattle's John Snyder, really smart, really good personnel guy. the Raiders, they overpaid, over-pursued Gino Smith, who once again leads the NFL in picks. I mean, he can't figure out basic pass protection. It's, I mean, it's bad. And right now he's arguably the worst quarterback in the league. The last two years, Gino Smith has seven more interceptions than the next highest interception quarterback. So it's one thing to settle at quarterback.

You should never settle at quarterback. It's another to pursue the wrong one. And I understand sometimes you draft a quarterback and you don't really know how it's going to pan out because it's college football to pro. Gino has been in the league as long as I've been at Fox. You got a lot of tape on me. You got a lot of tape on Gino. You got to know after all these years in league what a guy is and what a guy isn't. The smart GMs are not pursuing, pursuing surrendering a third round pick.

the Raiders could have had Darnold. Nobody in the world thinks Gino's better than Darnold. So, I mean, the other thing is, Brock Bowers, as far as I can tell, I don't have the game film, is open on every play. How does he have one reception? I don't even understand it. So Pete Carroll had a full year away from football,

to modernize, to reflect, to look in the mirror, to take stock, to evaluate everything. And he went back to Gino Smith. And that ain't good. I mean, you're going, that's old school, Gino Smith. 27 picks in the last two years. Seven more than the next guy. So the Raiders have earned fourth place.

In the modern NFL, if you are tone deaf to quarterback, you're tone deaf to winning. And again, it's not like Gino didn't have a resume. You didn't need to go to West Virginia sophomore year to look at film. You could have gone to last year. And Pete had a year off to reflect. Offensibly, I don't even know what the Raiders are. Here's Pete after. When I's one of points.

Yeah, I mean, I agree with you guys. And that's about as obvious as you can get. The running game would have helped us in that regard. But Chip was trying. He was staying with the running game to try to not let them tee off on us. And so, yeah, we've got to score more. Yeah. You never want to settle at quarterback.

A lot of these defensive coaches, they're like, ah, Sam Howell, Mitch Trubisky. It's another to pursue 66 million guaranteed in a third round pick to pursue Gino, who's been in the league forever and is a turnover machine. So you kind of, you earned your spot in fourth place. Denver's a different story. Bo Nix was young. It's college.

Good rookie year. You think he's going to grow. Something's happened. He looks nervous. us. That's a different feel. You do feel like, how do they write the ship? It was so ascending last year. Raiders are just, why, how? J-Mack, we have ourselves a weekend. I'd tell you something. I had this discussion with Danny Parkins at the network yesterday. Sometimes we in the media, we get on something, we get really close to something, and you look at something. And maybe we should

take a step back. Are you talking about the Raiders and Pete Carroll? I mean, listen, you kind of giving Pete Carroll a pass here. There's a veteran coach who's like, we can win now. Let's bring in Gino Smith. I mean, this is kind of a disaster. I don't want to

say Pete Carroll's won and done there in Vegas, but Colin, I mean, there's a veteran coach. They look awful, like genuinely bad. People are close to Pete Carroll. He's well respected of the media. Is he coaching this team next year? I don't know. I mean, the Raiders make a lot of moves.

They make a lot. I mean, listen, we know what is winning in this league, young offensive coaches. We know what's not winning as much in creating some angst, older defensive coaches. Tomlin, Pete McDermott, right? Like, we know young offensive coach. Andy Reid's outlier. All these young offensive coaches, the Ben Johnsons, the Sean McVease, Kyle Shannon's still pretty young.

That's what's working in the league. some of the old defensive coaches, like Ron Rivera, Tomlin, Pete, that's what we're kind of critical of these days. There's some young defensive coaches, Jesse Minner, Mike McDonald in Seattle, that have kind of a new way of seeing things. So that's why I've said for the Miami Dolphins, I would look at Lane Kiffin. These young offensive coaches, you don't have to love Mike McDaniel, and he may not be the right CEO and cultural fit, but you know Mike McDaniel knows offense. So the Raiders They need a lot of things And that Ashton Gentie pick

I can't say anything I don't know I don't want to know what to make of it I can't blame him because the O-line's a tragedy I mean yeah they're missing Miller But you know Jemir Gibbs came into this league Bejanne Robinson came on They're getting the ball in space

They're doing things Genties like three yards of carry I don't see anything out of him Yeah Yeah the O lines Everything on offense Brock Bowers is open You had one catch on three targets, I believe?

What? I know. It's a lot of what. Blazing 5, 58% clip. Yeah. It's what the staff said. How was it last week? I forgot.

Last week, a little bumpy. Okay, yeah. I'm familiar with bumpy. 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. Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the odd couple on Foxx. Sports Radio. And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10 p.m.

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What's the news, new? huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers

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or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel,

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And for more, follow Timbo Slicleaf 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.

She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court-side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, what a life it is for Chicago Bear fans, a winning record favored at home against a team that has struggled to score? You know, I was thinking about this. I'm watching Bo Nicks last night, three and out, three and out, three and out. After watching Bo Knicks for the last eight weeks, after watching Jaden Daniels get hurt for the fourth time in a year and a half, after watching J.J. McCarthy in a year and a half have two good quarters,

and watching Pennix in Atlanta struggling to score, can we just now say that Drake May of New England and Caleb Williams of Chicago are the two best quarterbacks from the 2024 class? They're both. I mean, big playmakers, strong, can make playmakers. with their feet, big arms and big bodies that don't get hurt. Through eight games with Ben Johnson, let's pull back and look at the truth. Chicago leads the NFL in big plays.

They are fourth in yards per play. Their top five in total offense. Yeah, some of it's Ben Johnson schemes. Some of it's Caleb Williams. And unlike Bo Nicks, and I'm watching last night and I'm thinking, unlike Bo Nicks, who was regressed, what was the one thing I worried about Caleb? You gotta cut the sacks in half. He has.

He's never thrown interceptions. He didn't throw him at USC. He didn't throw him last year. He doesn't throw interceptions. He holds the ball too long, but he doesn't turn it over. Passer rating up. Sacks down. Passing yards per game.

Up. So he's ascending. And yeah, well, yeah, it's Ben Johnson. All the great quarterbacks, Bradshaw had Noel, Marino had Shula, Elway had Shanahan, Stafford's got McVeigh, Aitman had Jimmy Johnson, Breeze had Peyton. Folks, all the quarterbacks that succeed in this league have great coaches. There's nobody, you know, from a test tube that just does everything themselves. Everybody's got a kingmaker.

So if Ben Johnson's is kingmaker, so be it. But I look at Drake May and Caleb right now. Their body, they're thick, they're big, they're playmakers, they can move. They throw bad picks. Drake May throws bad picks. And sometimes Caleb operationally gets out of sorts. But it's like looking at the economy. I'm not an economist, but the inflation's down, unemployment's low, the stock market up 10.5%.

You could probably zoom into sectors and be apocalyptic and panicky. but we have a gigantic economy and from 33,000 feet, I think it's okay. I think it's okay, right? It's a big economy that overcame a pandemic. If you pull out on Caleb, yards per play, big plays, rushing, dynamic downfield throws, pull out.

You can look at individual drives. You can look at individual throws. But when you pull out, you're like, you're like, you're pretty good numbers. I mean, last year to this year, touchdown more a game, almost 100 yards, total yards per game. Rushing's better, passing's better. There's clear growth, dynamic results. He and Drake may look like those are the two stars.

Here's Ben Johnson on the growth. I do think he's getting better every week. There's ups and there's downs, and some weeks are better than others, which we knew. but he's a lot better place now with his process than he was to start the season. You know, the week isn't necessarily smooth sailing always, but I think that's to be expected with year one in a new system. So he's learning and he's spent a lot of time at it,

so I'm very pleased with his approach. I think we're going to continue to see him take off here second half the season. Yeah, I mean, it's not linear with these young quarterbacks, but if you have the right cut, whenever I hear this, Well, it's Ben Johnson. Every great quarterback has a Hall of Fame level coach. And if they don't, the coach gets fired and they go find one. Mahomes has Andy Reid.

Andy Reid gets credit too, but it's Mahomes. He's pulling the trigger. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. And get back to basics. bounce back by just coming back in the building,

getting back to work and find ways to improve, keep stacking the days and keep that mindset. They're a good team, obviously, you know, two losses against them last year. So it's going to be a test. You know, we know that. It's Monday night football. It'll be a great atmosphere,

and it's going to be a test. It's going to be a bounce back week for us. And, you know, like I said, we just got that mindset to focus on us and our process and all the little details and just have that mindset to go out there, start fast, and play our best ball Monday. Yeah, I'm taking Philly.

Easily. I mean, it's one of the bigger matchups of the season at this point, right? Philly off a buy, I don't understand the line. There's a couple of lines, the Colts line. I think they're going to blow out Atlanta, and I think the Philadelphia Eagles are a better team here, and I think last week, in the last two weeks have kind of figured out what they are. Green Bay doesn't know what they are. Well, we know, I saw some video breakdowns of what the Panthers did to, you know, to, Jordan Love and essentially they said, hey, we're inviting you. Go ahead, throw the deep ball. And Jordan Love's like, fine, I'll do it. And he kept throwing picks. He was not good at all.

The Eagles are susceptible to the deep ball in the back end because they've got now that safety, the kid from Iowa. Hooper DeGine is playing in the slot. So he's not like on the back end. I think there's some over-the-top action here for Christian Watson. I know they're going to miss Tucker Craft underneath. Colin, I think I'd be loath to go against the Packers here. Will this be in the Blaz and five? It will not. It's going to be like about once a week there's a game I want to watch. And I just, I don't like betting a game when I have more questions than answers. And Green Bay is the favorite. And so it's tough to play Lambo, those standalone games, and they played as poorly as they have played in two years. So my feeling would be Green Bay is going to bounce back with a very strong

performance. I always say, if you have a good coach and a quarterback and you lay an egg, you almost always play great the next week. So that's the number. Hard to bet against Philadelphia in close games. They've been in so many, and they're so good in close games. And also, Green Bay multiple times they sure. It wasn't just Carolina. They tied Dallas. They lost the Cleveland. It's not like that was a one-off. Against bad teams. Against bad teams. What about the good teams? Take out the Detroit win in week one. It's still, trying to find their way in week eight, week nine, week ten.

Micah knows Jalen Hertz very well, knows those tendencies from the dime in Dallas. I like Packers here. All right, let's go to the second story here. Colin, I don't know what the hell's going on with my guy, Brock Purdy. This is just strange. He hasn't played since week four. They didn't put him on IR.

Every week, it's like, well, I've got this turf toe thing. Colin, I don't know. Listen to Kyle Shanahan. You tell me if any of this makes sense. I think we're definitely being more aggressive with him as we go this week more aggressive than that last week. And he's definitely getting better each week, head in the right direction. Still haven't decided this week where we'd rule him out or not. Probably do that tomorrow after practice.

But Brock's definitely getting closer. So you're confident that we will see him again this year? Yes, I'm pretty confident you'll see him this year. What would hope? Pretty confident? How about this? The offense has been defined. It's Christian McCaffrey 1, MacJone, Mac Jones.

too he trusts mac jones kio shanan's my coach of the year right now what and i think this is not in my blazing five above shane stuyken yeah Shane stuyken has his starters Shane stuyken has a better roster

Shannon's got christian mccaffrey Trent williams cross your fingers that defense shouldn't be close to this good and I'll tell you this was almost one of my picks with San Francisco the line's now up to four and a half I would take San Francisco go on this. Remember, the Rams

have played a lot of jags and saints. This rivalry is physical and intense. You go up to the Bay Area. This is going to be a close, fairly low-scoring game. The problem is last time we saw San Fran against a good team, and that's not Atlanta. That was the Tampa Bay game.

They really struggled. They got destroyed. I think they're lost by two scores. Well, that was in Tampa. They're at home. Isn't that in Tampa? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe that. No, that was at Tampa. You're right. Yeah. This is at home against a rival. Step up in class for the Rams. Okay, real quick on the injuries. So, Ricky Pearsall, like, I don't, nobody knows what's going on. He's buried on every fantasy

roster. People are waiting. Why didn't they put him and Brock Purdy on IR? Those ex shoeing up roster spots, Colin, for five weeks for guys who aren't even playing or practicing? What is happening in San Francisco? They have so many injuries. Well, they didn't make a move at the trade deadline, meaning they think they're getting guys back. So they were not desperate. They're getting guys back. You know, it's almost like the Dodgers. Where the Dodgers, Blake Snell had like 11 starts.

All they cared about was September. That's what, September and October. I wonder if Kyle's looking at this and thinking, listen, I'm not going to bring guys back at 85%. If we can keep winning two out of three weeks with this roster, I'm just, we're not going to make a move at the trade deadline. I want these guys Thanksgiving on. And so they're winning enough.

They're in contention here. They're not on a three-game, four-game losing streak. I wonder if he's like, Pierce-all could play, but he's 80%. And Shanahan's take is, I want my guys fully healthy for the last eight games of the year. They're hopeful Bryce Huff,

who I know we scoffed at him. Good edge rush. He's like a factor for this team. Because they got nobody that can touch a quarterback. If you've given me Stafford in a clean pocket all day, Niners are cooked.

Final story, college football. Now, this one's spicy. You like this guy, Josh Pate. He's great. Josh Pate is excellent. So he's doing one of his shows, and at the very end, he just tosses this in saying, hey, all these interesting openings in college football, keep an eye on Lincoln Riley. Now, when Zach told me this, I'm like, come on. Is this looking by it?

Josh Pate is as connected as anybody in the sport. Okay, so who's bending over backwards to pry Lincoln Riley out of U.S.C? Well, first of all, unlike you? Like Brian Kelly, he's not old and grumpy. Okay, does he fit culturally at LSU? Well, he's a good offensive coach. Okay, so was Brian Kelly? Well, old and grumpy doesn't necessarily want to put the time into recruit.

So, okay, so Lincoln Riley may, okay, does he fit at Penn State? Well, I fit. It's same conference. Here, when I saw that, first of all, I trust Josh implicitly. I'm not denying it. So my take on this is USC has gotten, um, has spent a lot of money in NIL, a lot of money in facilities, a lot of money on the staff, a lot of money on the GM.

And this roster has very few elite players. Very few. They're just now waking up to the fact that L.A. actually has really good athletes. They didn't recruit it for four years. So I think there's some discomfort, the fact that they're sub-500 on the road, and many of their losses are to Maryland and Minnesota. And then, you know, last year, an average Michigan team in Illinois. And I'll be honest, if Penn State came and said, boom, here's the check.

And USC didn't have to pay in some sort of buyout could possibly at the end of the year if they get clobbered by Oregon. And they lose, you know, the last game. I don't know. Yeah. All I'm not making, what I'm saying is Josh Pace is well connected. There's not a lot of guys out there. If Lane Kiffin takes an NFL job or stays at Ole Miss and doesn't go, you tell me the Vanderbilt guy everybody loved, but really? Bark Lee, he's amazing.

Oh, okay, amazing. Okay, so my take on Lincoln Riley, so I've been in this long enough, you know, in the media, you get fed stuff, you got people talking to you. When I say stuff here on the show that's, you know, forward thinking, people. People could say, oh, I listen to his pod. I listen to the show closely. I know where JMAX's getting that from. I don't know Josh as well as you do. But I'll just say this.

If I'm Lincoln Riley and I'm watching all these buyouts happen around college football, I'm in his camp. I'm floating this. Hey, keep Lincoln's name out there in case, like you said, they get smashed by Oregon and the USC booster say, this is not good enough. Let's buy him out. I think this is Lincoln Riley, his camp hedging his bet.

They're not dissatisfied with Lincoln. Well, if they get smashed by Oregon, again by 30. Yes, then I think you look in the mirror and go four years in, what are we? That's what I've said with USC. What's the there there? I know he's smart. I compare him to Matt LaFleur. I know he's young, smart, good play caller, liked by players. I don't know if the CEO thing is perfect. I kind of feel both get prickly. They can be a little defensive, but I know they're both smart and capable. Matt LaFleur would be on the job market to have fired in a minute he'd get a job. Lincoln and Riley would get hired in a minute.

He has done an unbelievable job offensively. They're using a walk-on running back, a walk-on on the offensive line. They really are, they've got some nice receivers and a good left tackle, but they're young everywhere, and their star right now is a former UNLV quarterback and a walk-on running back. So I think he's a really good coach. But they spent a lot of money in this program, and everybody at USC, they kind of look down at Oregon still.

They're like, it's Oregon. You know the USC booster crowd is a little nutty. I mean, the college football. Well, I think all these, I mean, when you're writing $5 million checks, is it nutty or demanding? Well, were they before Lincoln Riley got here? I don't know. I think he's done a pretty damn good job.

If they had beaten Illinois, and they had their chance. Go either way game at the end, wasn't it? Had they beaten Illinois, I don't think you'd hear these rumors. But I do think. I wouldn't move off him. I'll just say this. He's not Jim Harbaugh, obviously, but with Jim Harbaugh...

No, I wouldn't move off him either. Multiple years, people were like, get him out of here. He's a failure. No, I wouldn't move off him. Just be patient. No, no, no, no. I'm... The Brian Kelly thing I got, grumpy, weird fit, didn't want to recruit, older...

He lost the team. Lincoln's young. I don't see him as grumpy. He can get a little defensive. He's young. He's smart. He's on the right side of the ball. What he has done to Jaden Maiva?

Yeah. It's unbelievable. That kid two years. ago, I watched him at UNLV and I'm like, what is Lincoln seeing that guy? I think he looks like a pro. He does look like a pro because of Lincoln. Yeah. Jay Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Man, I got stuff today. Blazing Five, top of the show, bounceback week. So, a very interesting game. Minnesota hosts Baltimore. Lamar Jackson

owns the NFC. But over the next month, starting this Sunday, the truth's going to come out on J.J. McCarthy. No more handholding. Baltimore, Chicago, Green Bay, Seattle can all score points. There's going to be some shootouts, and they're going to need 30 points a game, 28, 30 points a game to win games. So, so far, this year, J.J. McCarthy, I mean, if you kind of almost look at the career thing, It's two good quarters of 12.

Okay? If you take the two good quarters out, he has a 37 passer rating, and is completing 53% of his throws. Two good quarters of 12. This year, that's not great. He was the one quarterback in the 2024 class I didn't buy. It was nothing personal,

but I have to see in college a wow trait. It's why I like Kyler Murray. I'm like, I've never seen a guy move like that. size arm athletic ability i gotta get a wow trait you can't tell me he's a winner what does that mean that's like if i'm trying to hire your son or daughter and i ask you as a parent about him and you're like well they're a good kid well you're their parents i would hope they're a good kid you got to give me a resume where'd they go to school what is their skill set what have they done i got 12 quarters two good ones you know i and and here's the thing if you go to his quarterback

class in college. I looked it up. Penix, Caleb, Jaden Daniels, Bo Nix, Drake May, averaged over 300 yards a game. They carried their teammates. J.J. McCarthy averaged 199 yards. He was carried by Michigan. So his college career did not set him up for the NFL reality,

which is you don't have the best O line, the best coach, the best run game, the best defense, and the best field position. So, and people say, well, Colin, he'll make one or two spectacular throws a game. That's like being a comedian, one or two jokes that land does not make a great set. Right? You got to be funny for 25 minutes. You got to do a Bill Burr. Like you got to stand on stage for 45 minutes and 90% of it is really, really funny.

Then you're a franchise comedian. It can't be a couple of good jokes. So I don't see the wow. In 25 games, he's played three. I don't know what to make of it. This morning, the staffs, I said, give me the total quarters, 12. How many are good, two?

That's not a good hit rate. I don't know what to do with it. So he plays the Ravens. I look at the schedule, Baltimore, Chicago, Green Bay, Seattle. There are some offenses there. Lamar, Caleb, Jordan, loves, Sam Darnold. You got to put some points up. Here's Kevin O'Connell.

I mean, two of 12 is not even a good batting average. I mean, here's Kevin O'Connell. I've always thought JJ is a very, very high-level processor of information. I think the way I would equate it to, it would be like, you know, if you're a high-level chef making a meal, you know, we try to put the ingredients out on the counter and then leave the instructions right next to the ingredients and then potentially, you know, have up until 15,

seconds to help guide the crafting of that meal. That's how we try to do it so it's not just show up to the stadium and figure it out all on your own. You know, I like the ingredients. I got no problem with the ingredients. It's the chef. I don't know if can bring it home. Like I said, left tackle, star receivers, head coach. I love the ingredients.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores, I'd hire him in a heartbeat. I love all the ingredients. But you got to make that land on my plate. I don't see it. All right. We got Blazing Five top of next hour. Mike Sandel's got a fascinating piece. May I have to put my tinfoil hat on with LeBron James.

See that? Suddenly LeBron James, sciatica is all healed. Very interesting. My back is suddenly healed after a great Luke night. That happens to us old guys. Come on, you know that. A good night's sleep and your back is fine. Cyanica, can't get out of bed.

Luca drops 35. I'm ready to go. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news?

We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,

where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy,

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman, Help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 beaders 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. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris.

Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Genschen went. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I Heart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, USC is going to beat Northwestern and Iowa. It all comes down to that Oregon game, and to your point, USC views themselves as, and they're spending money like Ohio State is, and Texas, they're spending big money on facilities and the staff and the NIL. It's that Oregon game. Yeah.

It's one thing, you know, it's one thing to lose at Notre Dame. The alumni is okay with that, and it's another thing, it's a battle with Oregon. but if you go down there and get baked in Eugene after losing Illinois and you look up four years in and you're like oh our record's kind of the same as Clay Helton now we know Lincoln's better than Clay Helton

he develops players better but it's a lot of the same stuff recruiting's not as powerful as it should be that was a Clay Helton problem it's a Lincoln issue everybody's like oh next year's class is great well let's just see yeah it's the NIL world guys leave all the time

Indiana went into Oregon and had a pretty convincing win, actually. A thumped Oregon. So you need to show up. I like USC tonight. I think it's 14 and a half. They're a very good home team. But it's the story, Josh Pate, like there's keep your eye on Penn State. Maybe it's just out there through an agent to cool the heat on Lincoln.

I like Lincoln. He's my Matt LaFlewer. I know he's smart. I know he knows quarterbacks. I know he's a really bright guy. Some of the CEO stuff, a little prickly. Sometimes I doubt. the world view on the program.

Where's the there there with the Packers? And remember when he was at Oklahoma, there's not that massive spotlight. At USC, much bigger spotlight, Big Ten. I think you got to give these guys time. I agree. I'm with you. I'm defended Dabo and all these guys. He won 11 games every year at Oklahoma.

I don't know that I can go defend Dabo, but that's another story. All right. Well, there's a lot of talk, trade deadline week, criticizing teams. that were too aggressive like Indianapolis. And I was thinking about Jalen Phillips, good player, goes from spiraling out of control Miami to Philadelphia. Sauce Gardner goes from the abysmal hapless jets to the Colts. Rashid Shaheed hooks back up with his offensive coordinator in New Orleans,

goes from the lost, woeful saints to the Seahawks. I think all three players are going to crush. and it's three of my favorite GMs. Howie Roseman, Chris Ballard, John Snyder, great GMs. So when people say, they say this a lot, well, you gave up too much. Be careful.

First of all, Philly needed an edge rusher. They're like bottom six in sacks, bottom seven and sacks. The Colts needed a corner. Look at the Colts schedule in next five weeks. They need, they're facing a lot of number one receivers. They need an elite corner. In Seattle, too much of their offense through the air was JSN. They needed another perimeter weapon.

But when people say, oh, you gave up, it's first round picks. So instead of just crossing your fingers and hoping next year the first rounders play, let's go back to this past first round. Two players in the first round are crushing. Playmakers today, two of 32. Tyler Warren, who Chris Ballard drafted tight-end Colts, all pro-level tight-end, and Emeka-A-Bucah wide receiver Tampa. Productive, dynamic, they are professional football players and high-end players.

Two of 32 in the first round. There's another six, seven guys who are good. They're not sauce gardener or Jalen Phillips productive. So again, windows close, very quick. quickly in professional football. Strike when the iron is hot is a term used in every industry. And I look at Rashid Shaheed and Jalen Phillips and Soss Gardner. All of those guys fill a small hole on good rosters.

Somebody told me this years ago, they're like, everybody loves draft picks. But if you have a really good roster like the Philadelphia Eagles, how many spots are available in the draft? I mean, you're the Colts. How many guys can you draft? Tyler Warren hits. I mean, there's only two or three spots that a second, third rounder could even make that. That's why they gave up first round picks.

Philly, Seattle, and Indy have three of the top six rosters in the sport. And if you like your quarterback and all of them apparently do, all right, you give up first round picks. So I like aggressive GMs, maybe to a fault. Here's Jalen Phillips. I'm going from Miami to Philly. I thought I was excited day one. I mean, talk to me now. Like this is literally the greatest thing that's happened to me in my whole life, probably.

I mean, it's like a workplace transfer. It's unbelievable. I will defend those GMs. I want to throw this out there. I don't want to go too deep into it. I'm not going to put on a tinfoil hat. but you're a LeBron guy a little bit, J. Mack. So Wednesday, a report surfaces.

LeBron's not making the five-game roadie. That sciatica nerve is very temperamental. And then that night, Luca has one of his games of the year. Wembe gets stymied. J.J. Reddick looks like a genius. And the next morning, the report comes out, the sciatica nerve. What sciatica nerve? feel like a million dollars i read the story yesterday uh lebron has now been cleared for

contact and had made sure that story made the news made that's made sure that story made the la times they got out there for the press kind of felt a little intentional is all i'm saying look at me maybe so is that lebron he's going to rush back now what are you what do you see i see the tinfoil hat on lebron is very intentional stuff gets out because his camp wants it out. Luke on a heater, beat the red hot spurs. Honestly, Aiton's playing great, Luca, they did it without Austin

Reeves and LeBron. LeBron, just make sure the old sciatica. Nothing. Just a little achy, breaky. It's all healed up. I don't know. I just think, here's Rachel Nichols on LeBron fitting in with the Lakers.

I think now, he's really on board with being on this team right now and letting what happens next year be, you know, next summer sort of thing. But look, LeBron has a gravity in a locker room, in any room he's in. I always compare him to Jupiter. Jupiter has two and a half times the gravity of Earth. LeBron has two and a half times the gravity of anyone else in that locker room. So when he's in the locker room actively on the court, he is such a huge presence. That's not LeBron's fault. He doesn't do anything disruptive. It's just that he is... he's different.

I am not wearing a tinfoil hat. It just felt like it was an intentional report after a glorious win at home over the spurs. Hey, this is how journalism works. You've got a probe. Love it. The Blazing Five. Next.

Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed. First people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNLL. Michael's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band

with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the norm. breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcasts on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHartRey Women's Sports.

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

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