The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - CJ Stroud vs. Bill Belichick

Episode Date: August 11, 2023

Thoughts on Texans QB CJ Stroud last night against Bill Belichick's defense.Why Colin doesn't have an issue with Phil Mickelson's excessive gambling.What to take from the Vikings-Seahawks game last night.The NFL games that are interesting tonight.Guest: Antonio CromartieSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith ruling. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports 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.

It is a Friday, and we are chock full of football. Live in Los Angeles, it's the hurt, wherever you may be. However you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Jay Mackle join us Monday. Ryan, very capably sitting in. It is nice to be here, and we got football last night. Tonight, we have five exhibition games.

I sat in the couch last night, lost almost every play, fell asleep, fourth quarter. It's good to have football back, ordered a little door dash, sat down, ate Greek food, watched football, about as good as life gets. So the Texans, rookie quarterback, C.J. Stroud, made his pro debut, Ohio State Kid. I think if he can avoid all the nonsense with the Texans and their chaos through the years, he has a chance to succeed. He's not much of a wow guy, but he's big move, foundationally, he's got some nice stuff. The fact that he wasn't great against Belichick is not a story.

Rookie quarterbacks against Bill Belichick are 6 and 24, complete 55% of their throws, throw almost twice as many interceptions and touchdowns, and have a passer rating at 64. Bill is the greatest defensive coach ever, not a shock, that the Texans in a rebuilding state look bad offensively. at least C.J. Stroud did. Facing Belichick as a rookie is like teaching your kid how to drive in New York City. It's really fast and mistakes are inevitable. Know what I really watched last night and I was thinking of Aaron Rogers, New England's backups on the defensive line created utter chaos and havoc for the Texans. It's the best part of the Patriots. Pressure on the quarterback. They were tied for third in the NFL last year in Sacks,

even their backups are good. The Patriots have all sorts of offensive limitations. They can't draft a skill player to save their life. Malik Cunningham's interesting, but he's a third-string quarterback and probably won't see the field much. I like him. Love to see him get snaps. But what New England does and they do it well every year is get to the quarterback.

And the Jets weakness, that's what I thought about with Aaron Rogers sitting at home in New Jersey. He's got that big new home. I'm sure he had to go out and buy pillows and comforters. Maybe he had somebody do it for him, but he was sitting there watching, and that's what New England does. They're backups. Beat Houston's backups, but that's what New England does under Belichick. They create pressure.

And if you look at who the jets are going to face in their opener, Buffalo, great pass rush. Then it's the Cowboys. Strength of the team, pass rush. Then New England, Philadelphia, Brown. Giants, Chargers, all a great pass rush. C.J. Stroud threw a bad pick against Belichick. Outside of Mahomes, doesn't everybody kind of play worse football at quarterback against Belichick teams?

D'Amico Ryan said, it's all okay. I thought it was good for CJ to go out and get some live reps. He had some real looks. I thought he moved around well. He went to the right place with the ball a couple times. You know, and it was good to see it move out of the pocket and try to make some things happen there. We know we have some things to clean up up front. I don't want them having to move as much, but we all have things to clean up and get better at.

But I thought it was a good first outing, good look at live action. So I thought it was good for him. Of course, I'm not super excited at how I play. Didn't get to play a lot, but just get my feet in water, learn from my mistakes, and just keep growing. Just wish I didn't do one mistake on one certain play. But other than that, I thought I played solid. It felt good to get hit again. And just get back in the group.

I just think that that's what preseason is for. He's big enough. He moves well enough. He's accurate enough. I've said, can he overcome the Texans? Their offensive line isn't very good. It was ranked bottom quarter of the league last year that are in a rebuilding mode. He's got a first-time offensive coordinator.

He's got a rookie defensive coach. They've got a couple of interesting young receivers. It'll be okay. Take a deep breath. much like Jared Goff. We don't know if the coach is the right coach. When Jared got one, and that's C.J. Stroud's comp. When Jared got one, he became very good.

Hopefully, D'Amico Ryan's is his first coach and his right coach. But that's not what I took from it. Belichick eats really good veteran quarterbacks up. That was going to happen. What I noticed was the pressure even their backups created. Overwhelming Houston's front. You could say, well, it's Houston. The Patriots were third in the league last year in Sacks.

No reason. Matt Judon, no reason they're going to go backwards. Get ready for Aaron Rogers. Well, speaking of stars, Phil Mickelson yesterday at the end of the show, he touched on it. There's a new book out by a man named Billy Walters. He's considered the most successful gambler of all time, has spent time in prison.

And he's got some scores to settle. And he dropped a few bombshells that Phil Mickelson bets a lot. well there's a reason in Vegas parlance they call them whales and not goldfish rich people memo bet a lot michael jordan bets a lot too i mean it's legendary right rich people bet a lot they don't pay play penny slots they're not at the five dollar table blackjack that's where i sit um phil mickleson in the book says he considered betting on the rider cup although phil adamantly denied that yesterday And here's the thing about Phil. I've been riding this 30-year roller coaster with him.

Love him, drives me nuts, talented, reckless, enduring, flawed, interesting. Mostly owns it. I'm here for him. He's a big character who takes big swings, big consumer food, wine, golf, and apparently betting. Yeah, he bet a lot of money. 25 years ago, I remember being in a sports book, I think it was the Las Vegas Hilton. And somebody told me that Phil Mickelson was maybe the very, the biggest better in Las Vegas. Again, he was a whale. All right. He's pulling in 50 million a year.

I think at last year he made 106 million. So what? He's not a quarterback. He's not a tight end. He's not a point guard. He's not a goalie. He's like a boxer. He's an independent contractor. He doesn't have responsibilities to teammates or coaches or coordinators. an owner, a general manager. He's never gotten along with a PGA, and the PGA itself is only a charity. He's a boxer. I've got some interesting stories on boxers.

UFC stars. They're independent contractors. And that's what Phil Mickelson is. Even the biggest claim, the Rider Cup, he was going to bet the Ryder Cup. Phil Mickelson says, I didn't bet the Ryder Cup. Phil Mickelson talks. Alan Shipnuck wrote a book called Phil on the show in a couple of hours.

Phil just talks. He's the jokester. He makes big bets, big claims. Nobody knows half if they're true. So if somebody who spent time in prison says the scores to settle, that guy was going to bet on the Ryder Cup. Prove it to me. I'm not defending the reckless nature of Phil Mickelson, but I am saying his loyalty is to sponsors. He's a pro golfer. The PGA is a charity. and the PGA never treated stars the way they should have been until the live tour was created and now exists. Suddenly the PGA has reworked the books a little to take care of their stars, and Greg Norman, who runs the LIV tour and Phil Mickelson, one of their stars, have pushed back on the tour forever.

There's nothing in this book that shocks me. Phil Mickelson bet over a billion dollars and lost $100 million. I think last year he made more than $100 million. Again, memo, rich people bet a lot. Okay. The trouble is, and Phil has acknowledged a gambling addiction. Some people have that quality. Years ago, I worked with a guy named Kenny, food, alcohol, betting, women, anything.

He was just all in, overboard on everything and acknowledged it and hopefully has fixed it. It's a real thing. Addiction exists in all corners of America and the world. It's sad. Phil acknowledges it, has self-awareness, and has tried to peel back. But even the Ryder Cup claim, it's not a golf major. PGA is not a team. I mean, the Ryder Cup is a bragging right festivity. There's no purse for it.

Just want to be better than the Euros. That's probably the only golf team you're ever on. And would anybody really care? He bet on his team to win. I know, I know. It's not appropriate. I said this yesterday. Finding out that Phil may have considered betting on the Ryder Cup is like finding out your 16 or 17-year-old smoke pot.

You won't encourage it. You're not happy with it, but there's a lot worse. It's legal in 30 states. So Phil Mickelson lived a big life with big swings. And he has made my life better as a consumer. I'm here for all of it, even the bad parts. We do that now in society. we like the best parts of things. We consume things we like, but when it's not exactly to our

suiting, we get upset. Let's be less fragile. Phil's all in, all interesting, all the time. And he's not perfect, and he's flawed, and he's talked about it. That's the turbulent life of America's rock star. We could talk about Tiger and some of his secrets. I'm okay with Phil. I read a story this morning from an English broadcaster named Gary Lennox. And it's funny how we look at gambling sometimes. It's bad, right? Linneker, the broadcaster, talked about his friend Queenie overseas. Michael Jordan was over there and they were going to go golf, Michael Jordan and Queenie.

So Queenie goes up to him and says, hey, Michael, would you like to wager a little? Sure, man. How much you want to play for, Michael? Michael puffed on a cigar, looked straight at him and smiled, whatever makes you uncomfortable, man. That's a cool story. And that's how Phil Mickelson's lived. And I'm here for it.

Imperfect. Fascinating. I'm okay with it. Alan Shipnuck, who wrote the book, Phil. And it's really, I've said this yesterday. I read the book, Phil in the afternoon. I could not put it down. And when I read it, I know a lot of things about Phil Mickelson were unveiled to me and not all positive.

And at the end of the book, I couldn't tell if I liked Phil Mickelson more or less. I couldn't tell. He's, you know, there's a reason. I used to watch The Sopranos. I didn't want to be the Sopranos. But it was fascinating. Phil bet. He gambled.

The stigma's over. Supreme Court ruled it's okay. Now, you could say it wasn't when he did it, but I'm supposed to be startled and shocked. I'm not. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at Tickford. Talk Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics

from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. So the second game that was on last night, the NFL Network, if you're not from the Pacific Northwest or from, you know, Minnesota, maybe you didn't watch. I did the Seahawks and the Vikings.

The one position in the NFL, at least in my opinion, that feels like it's certainly significantly more valuable than, say, 30 years ago as wide receiver. This past year, there were 22 players that had over a thousand yards at receiver, tight end. 30 years ago, it was nine. The NFL is trying to be safer. You can't grab receivers. You can't hit receivers.

So receivers now want to go to the middle of the field. And some, you know, I feel like they're almost uncoverable, certainly with single coverage. They're just more wide open all the time. They used to be icing on the cake, in my opinion. Now they're part of the cake. Running backs are more icing on the cake. So Seattle and Minnesota are interesting. both made the playoffs last year. Neither was very good at defense. Vikings were awful. Seattle was bad.

Neither had what you would consider star quarterbacks, Kirk Cousins, Gino Smith. Offensive line play was way below average. Well, how the hell did it get to the playoffs? Playmakers. And that's the key. And I saw it last night. They have both drafted another potential star wide receiver. Minnesota got Jordan Addison from USC. He looks like he's going to be really good. Seattle went and got Jackson Smith and Jigba. He's going to be spectacular. And so they're doubling down on it. Those early picks don't necessarily all have to be.

And it proves really in the NFL, Kansas City. Do they have a great defense? Minnesota and Seattle doubled down on getting really good wide receivers. If you go back over the last 12 years, you take just the Vikings and the Seahawks. Look at how well those organizations have. have done drafting and accumulating wide receiver talent. The Vikings, in fact, got Adam Thielen undrafted, and the Seahawks got Doug Baldwin undrafted.

The Vikings have Justin Jefferson, Thelham, Stefan Diggs, and now Jordan Madison. The Seahawks got Tyler Lockett and Doug Baldwin, D.K. Meckkef and Jackson Smith, Jigba. And that allows you to not have a very good defense. In fact, bad. That allows you to not have a superstar quarterback. and a weak offensive line and yet make the playoffs. Last year, five teams in the NFL had two 1,000 yard receivers.

All of them made the playoffs. So let's pivot back to New England in that same 12-year period. Great coach, great defense, great pass rush, always above average offensive lines, can run the football. Special teams are almost always way above average. And they're declining and couldn't make the playoffs. Why? Zero playmakers drafted on the perimeter in the last 12 years when Seattle and Minnesota are stockpiling great talent.

So the Vikings and Seahawks don't do many of the things New England is great at. But New England can't, under Bill Belichick, draft skill players. It is a hole in New England's business model. I mean, O lines, D lines, pass rush, run game, time of possession, head coaching, special teams, all the things we talk about for championship teams. They don't have any playmakers. I watched New England last night. They're slow. The most interesting player is a quarterback, Malik Cunningham, who's a third string quarterback who can do some receiver work.

I thought, that's fun. Let's get that young guy on the field. So watching Minnesota in Seattle last night, you know, I kind of looked at and I think. These teams got holes everywhere. But man, they make plays. They can do things off script. And that is a big part of what football is today. It can't all be schemes and 12 and 13 play drives.

Sometimes you need a dude to take it to the house. Here's Ryan with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Brock Purdy was fully clear to return to practice a couple weeks ago after his torn MCL in the NFC Championship game. Since then, Purdy has gotten the official nod to be the 49ers starting quarterback this season. As he makes his way back to full velocity and volume of throws, Purdy is feeling good. Yeah, my arm feels great. You know, just still

building back-to-back days and, you know, trying to gain all the strength that I can back from, obviously, just the rehab process of things. And I feel really confident. My routine really hasn't change. I feel like I'm, you know, back to a normal routine with my arm and stuff. So, so obviously taking care of it as much as I can on the off day and whatnot, but I feel, you know, almost back to normal. Well, he is who the coaching staff wants to start. So, you know, and we say this, the Niners are quarterback friendly. They're not quarterback reliant. So I, I don't think. I looked at him last year and I know a lot of people think it was luck and lightning in a bottle. Now, the coordinators he'll face, get a second year of looking at it. One of the things the Niners

face now that's sort of unspoken, but Kyle Shanahan has talked about this privately, not on air. Half the league runs his offense. So what's happening now to the San Francisco defense is they're often seeing, you know, variations of it week to week or every other week. And also the defenses that Brock Purdy faces now are more familiar with this offense. because they're facing it in practice all the time. So San Francisco, you know, they want to win a championship here because the league is really now starting to duplicate what they do. So defenses are getting a little bit more familiar with Kyle's schemes.

Half the league feels like they're copying it. So they need Purdy to be healthy. Trey Lans and Sam Darnal are not getting you to a Super Bowl. I do believe with his accuracy and his ability to make quick throws and stay at a trouble with all his college experience, I do think Brock Purdy could end up in a Super Bowl. I really do. Not sure he's going to out duel a borough or an Allen,

but I think he could get there with this roster. Yeah, the thing with Purdy is, I think a lot of people get caught up in, well, he had the highest passerating over, you know, the stretch of games that he played. Well, I don't think anyone actually expects him to be that, to be the best quarterback in the league. But the 49ers don't need him to be special.

They just need him to be efficient and not turn the ball over, which is at times what Jimmy G got them into trouble with. If you go back to Jimmy G. when healthy, he was spectacular for them. Not saying he was spectacular, but he was spectacular for them. And so that's kind of the role of pretty is. Stay healthy. Let's get over this.

Accurate. I think he moves a little bit better than Garoppolo, and I think he has a better arm up the sideline than Garoppel. So if he's a slightly better version than Jimmy G, I think that, again, you can get to a Super Bowl. This roster, Kittle will be a Hall of Famer. Fred Warner's going to be a Hall of Famer. Trent Williams is going to be a Hall of Famer.

Debo and McCaffey or Pro Bowlers, there's like talent everywhere here. Bosa's going to be a Hall of Famer. The Rams sticking in the NFC West are coming off a very disappointing season, finishing with the most losses by a defending Super Bowl champion. Aaron Donald also had a down year playing in only 11 games after suffering an ankle sprain. Donald recognizes that the Rams are flying under the radar and expects the team to use that as motivation. Well, I got a lot to prove. If I ain't had a season I wanted, obviously coming off of injury, things like that.

I feel like you get to where you need to be. It's like starting over from scratch again. It's a brand new year. Last year was last year, but, you know, that kind of, it's a little fire letting it to me. We all need some type of fire or something to push you, you know, something to get you going. And that's something that I'm hanging on right now and I feel like we got something to prove as a team. I think I got something to prove as a player. That's how we're going to take it.

One thing I think that most people would agree on, they're not going to be a great team. So let's say we split the difference between where I think there'll be eight wins and where the public thinks five. So let's say it's six, six and a half seven. They'll probably be drafting around 12th. That should be able to get them one of the four college quarterbacks. So we think it's going to be Quinn Ewers, Michael Pennix, Caleb Williams, probably won't get him and make May. Those four right now, there could be more. Those four feel like to draft top 15, top 12.

So if the Rams win six, seven games, you're going to be around 12. If not you're 13, 14, and they probably move up if they wanted a quarterback. If Matt Stafford can stay healthy. So the whole season to me really isn't darn old. It's not a win total. The whole season to me comes down, can Matt Stafford stay healthy? If he stays upright and healthy, then they can address with that first round pick, a left tackle, a great, edge because they've got some components, but they need to upgrade left tackle. Another weapon. Somebody to help Darnold up front. So I think the real fascinating thing to them is, are they going to draft what Vegas thinks sixth or where I think 17th? It's probably in the middle

at 12 and they'll have an opportunity to get the third of the fourth quarterback there. If not, they'll move up a spot or two. And that's to me what's really fascinating because staff went healthy a year ago was spectacular. And same with Cooper Cup. The last time Matthew Stafford, Cooper Cup, and Aaron Donald were all healthy. They won the Super Bowl. So it's going to be about health and whether or not they're all upright the entire season. They're likely, especially in the NFC, going to at least be competing for a playoff spot by the end of the year,

which is going to take them out of that range to probably take a quarterback, as you were saying. and we'll wrap it up with this. Mike McCarthy will be the offensive play caller for the Cowboys this season. After Kellynne Moore left for the Chargers, McCarthy will be calling plays for the first time since 2018 with Aaron Rogers and the Packers. And it's something that he's looking forward to. Here's what he had to say.

I'm always looking forward to the games. That's what it's all about to compete again. I'm definitely looking forward to it. It's fun. I mean, it's kind of hard to be fired up about making schedules every damn day. I tried to, but I feel like I'm back in my element doing what I feel

like I do best. All right, we'll see. The record does not indicate, it's his strength. It does not indicate that. But the good news we heard this week that Tony Pollard is back off the broken leg and looks good, and I think that's a big deal

because Tony is an electric, game-breaking player. Zeke is gone. O-Lines got some injuries and a Zach Martin holdout. So as they work, Brandon Cooks, into CD Lamb and Michael Gallup's rotation, they're going to be very reliant on Tony Pollard,

no Zach Martin. So it does feel like it's a little bit more of a lean-on-dack year, which I don't love. But you know what? Their schedule early is full of big games on TV and we'll all watch them together. Good stuff, Ryan with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. He was a first round picked by the Chargers years ago and had a spectacular career, 11 years for Pro Bowls and just had a two-year coaching stint with Texas A&M and Jim Bo Fisher. Antonio Cromartie is joining us. First of all, how is that coaching thing?

Now you had to deal with all these players and all their stuff. How did you like that? No, I loved it. I loved every single bit of it. I love the experience. I thank Jumbo and that staff and that program for giving me an opportunity to go out and coached because it just turned on the fire at me

that I showed me that I really want to coach, and I feel like that's the purpose of me being able to go out there. I love that way I can build a relationship with kids and be able to get them to do the things that we need them to do. So I watched Hard Knocks, and I heard the stories about the Jets' offensive line struggles against Carolina. And Antonio, last time you were with the Jets, they were on Hard Knocks. Did you find it a distraction to have cameras everywhere?

Rex Ryan was there, Mark Sanchez. What did you make a hard knocks? just having people around the building. Honestly, man, after the first day or two, you start to get used to the camera's been around. Honestly, you start moving around and start doing things like they're not even there anymore. So I think that's what the organization is doing now. It's the second stint with it. And I think there's just know how to go about it and move in a way that make sure that, you know,

they can still get everything done in a way that they can capitalize on everything. Robert Sala's a little under the gun. He and Aaron do seem to have kind of the same personality. They're kind of up front. They're honest. They feel pretty authentic. But when you're in New York, Antonio, the media is pretty relentless if you don't get off to a good start. Are you a little concerned when you look at their O-line issues and the defenses they face early?

If they start three and three, are you concerned about the reaction and the heat on Sala? No, I think that's too much if they start three and three. But the only thing I'm really concerned about is the offensive line. And it's not the guard, the center position. It's more of the edges, that's Andrewsler would say also. I think when you have Duane Brown coming back, I need to see Mackay trusting his ACL and go out there and trust in what his rehab has done and the stuff that he's been through

are ready to get back and go out and go play where he needs to be playing. I mean, say he's gotten down in weight, he's down like the 3.30, 340 range. So that should help him a little more, take a little more pressure off his knees. But it's the depth that more so scares me on the offensive line, because if you're already talking about the edges from that standpoint that you have there now, injuries happen throughout the whole entire season. So it's always going to be in the next man-up mentality. So you've got to find your best five, and then you've got to find your next two or three

that can rotate in and out if injuries happen. So I know people can say, well, it's only practice. But coaches care about practice. When you were in the NFL, you've found out a lot about your teammates in practice. So it does matter. And also, Antonio,

starters don't play in the preseason much, so increasingly practice matters even more in her squad practices. So DAC, the other day, had three interceptions. We got video of each, and they were bad picks. And he's a veteran.

It's not, maybe it's not a big deal, but they were bad picks. Isn't it something? Yes. So you think it's something? It's something. And I say that because on one of the plays, I think it was

in the red zone plays, that pick was by far the worst. Yes. Because you had a runnerback running out on the flare. The linebacker drops on the knee, so they're in the zone coverage. And the first thing you do is try to throw an out route to the side where the lineback is dropping to. You know, that's

quarterback one-on-one. If you If it's not there, don't try to force it, drop it down to the back or whatever, try to get rid of it from that standpoint. And I think the other one was it was a deep ball that the receiver actually had Trayvon Diggs beat for by a yard, and he under threw it by a yard and a half. So, you know, he's throwing bad balls, but at the same time. It's practice. It's something to be worried about, but it's something that can be fixed as he goes on in this situation.

The thing that I hated was that had to come out and say, I would not throw this many picks next year. Now everybody's watching in practice and count how many pictures that you throw in practice. When he just should have been, Dak and just say, you know what, let me go out and just do what I was supposed to do. No reason to comment on anything that anybody else says outside of this organization. My job is to be the leader in the starting quarterback for this organization to go out and go lead them into the playoffs and try to get us to the Super Bowl.

So C.J. Stroud had a bad pick. My takeaway is kind of. Belichick, this is what he does with rookie quarterbacks. He throws a bunch of stuff at you. You make bad picks. CJ looks big. He's mobile. I've seen him at the podium.

I don't see any cocky. Seems like a good kid. What did you make of his opening performance against Belichick? I mean, he went two for four and threw an interception. I think it's two for four of 13 yards. And he threw an interception. The interception was bad because if you look at it, the tight end or whoever was in the flare at that point in time was wide open.

They was in a cover four where the number two receiver went over the top of the, went over the top of the quarterback went over the top of the linebackers. And the backside safety set underneath the number one receiver when he just threw the ball when he had the actual tight end who chipped was wide open, who could have got you six or seven yards in that position. So it's like he got to understand take what the defense gives them. Don't try to force a ball. He had the crossing route also that actually came open late. Yep.

But, you know, it's just a learning curve. You know, and that's something that he has to go through. He has to figure out how to go through. And that's probably that's something that he's going to go watching film to make sure that they understand. Like, hey, you don't have to force this ball. Yeah, maybe third down, maybe second down. But let's try to get some chunk yards back by dumping the ball down

because there was nobody in the flats covering the guy at all. Yeah. Antonio Cromartie, 11 years, four-time Pro Bowl. or stop by our show on late notice. Good seeing you. Have a great weekend. We'll be watching the preseason tonight and over the weekend, man. Thanks.

Definitely. The pleasure to have me all. You bet. Yeah. You know, when we showed that video of C.J. Stroud, the one thing you found very quickly is the pocket completely eroded. So a little bit of nerves, little anxiety, got a crowd on the road, don't have great offensive protection up front.

It's going to be ugly. Again, it's teaching your kid to drive in New York City traffic. It's just fast. You're going to get into a wreck. It's not going to be pretty. And by the way, not only do rookie quarterbacks, I mean, it's almost unbelievable. Rookie quarterbacks throw twice as many picks almost as touchdowns against Belichick. They're 6 and 24.

But here's what's amazing. Their passer ratings in the 60s and they complete 55% of his throws. And oh, by the way, in the career of Bill Belichick, there have been some great rookie quarterbacks. This is not a bunch of stiffs. Now, he's had some stiffs, but there's been some rookie quarterbacks in there that are really good players. Fifty-five percent completion percentage. So Bill makes it really rough on the kids. Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to three eastern, 9 a.m. to No, 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. Listen to comeback stories. I'm Darren Waller. You may know me best as a tied-in for the New York Giants. You may also know me for my story of overcoming addiction and alcoholism. You may have heard a few of my tracks as an artist or a producer. You may have seen the work that I've done through my foundation.

And you may know my friend and co-host Donnie Starkens as well. He's a mindfulness teacher, a yoga instructor, a life coach, a man fully invested in seeing people reach their fullest potential. And we've come to form this platform of comeback stories to really highlight not only our own adversity, but adversity in the lives of well-known guests with amazing stories. Catch us every week on comeback stories on the IHeart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need. to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of ton-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business

sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tomorrow, it's baseball night in America on Fox as Ronald de Cunia Jr. and the NL. East leading Braves take on the Mets or Shohe O'Hawati and the Angels battle the division rival Astros or Brewers White Sox. Tomorrow, 7 Eastern, 4 Pacific, Fox, check for the game in your area. Braves' Mets, I know how those games are going to end. I'm almost sure of it. So tonight we have six preseason games, many on at the same time.

So you'll have to watch highlights on some, unless you have one of those media rooms. I'm really interested in five. There's just a bunch of quarterback questions. I don't remember a year when I, you know, you have some big brands and I don't know who the quarterback is. So we have Jordan Love is going to play snaps at Cincinnati. I want to watch. Atlanta, Desmond Ritter at Miami. I want to watch. Kenny Pickett against Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask.

I want to watch. Sam Howell for Washington, when I watched them in college, I thought he was a less talented Baker Mayfield. But I want to watch. And then we're going to get Russell Wilson. Sean Peyton said he's going to play tonight at Arizona. So I know it's just preseason and nobody cares, right? I care.

So five games with quarterback questions. The Peyton Denver one's fascinating. Jordan Love. We can all play judge on America's Got Talent. You be Howie Mandel, I'll be Simon Cowell. We can be delighted or it's a tire fire. We'll just sit back and watch the quarterback talent. I do not have high hopes for Jordan Love.

He's got one career start, but 10 total appearances. And in those 10 total appearances, he has two passes for over 20 yards. It's a lot of dink and dunk. It's a lot of scheme thing. His biggest play in Philadelphia, that game against the Eagles was a slant, the Christian Watson, who's really, really fast and took it for a lot of yards. So I feel like I'm going to watch this movie, but there's not even enough footage for a trailer. So two career completions in 10 appearances of over 20 yards, I don't have high hopes.

Through the years, I've had a handful of sources inside the building. I've had a source inside the building that has really good connections, said they just don't see a lot of juice, a lot of it. And it's interesting because when Jordan Love was a college player at Utah State, the feeling was he was kind of wildly talented but had to be refined. Now it makes it sound like he's more of a game manager. So he's probably, and we heard this about Trey Lance in San Francisco. He's not quite the athlete, they thought, Utah State's not in a major Power 5 conference.

So he had a very good underclass year, did not have a good last. year. There was a coaching change. Who do you blame? Who knows? But I've said this before. In this league, there is such a premium on quarterback that if you're good, even if you're not playing, we're going to hear stuff. We heard stuff about Russell Wilson's first camp in Seattle, Joe Burrow, first week in Cincinnati, Patrick Mahomes. Three years, nothing. You go back and read the book about, you know, it was Jeff Perlman on Fav, Gunslinger. I think that's the book that had, you know, Aaron Rogers was poking Brett Fav. And, you know, there was some real talk inside the building by year, too, that this guy is really, really special.

I've heard none of it with Jordan Love. Now, the good news for Green Bay, there's not a lot of chaos here. They've got a ton of young, tight end wide receiver talent. And Jordan Love is young. I think generationally, he kind of connects with the guys more than an older Aaron Rogers did. So it's a very young offensive roster with the skill positions. And he's a young guy. So there's some connective tissue there that I think's good.

I also think Matt Lefleur is an offensive coach that knows what he's doing. They have two running backs that I think, you know, Aaron Jones and Dylan, who are very nice running backs. I think the young tied ends are going to surprise people how ready to play they are. And again, the division, we don't know how good Chicago is going to be. We don't know. I think, you know, Detroit could be a little overhyped. I just don't think there's a ton of juice, but you may be able, in the NFC, in this division to sort of game manage your way to nine wins. You may be able to. Here's Greg

Jennings yesterday on the show about Jordan Love's debut. He's sat back. He's learned a lot. He's been around not only the organization, but a great quarterback where he is at a disadvantage is because he hasn't been on the field enough. This is his chance and his opportunity. And for me, I think he's going to actually thrive. The problem is it's going to be. It's going to be hard for us to not compare what we would identify success as success to meeting the

standard that we have become accustomed to seeing in that green and gold uniform under center. Yeah, I, I, the other, my takeaway is if he gave me and I'll set the bar low, if Jordan Love gave me, say, 23 touchdowns,

eight picks. So 23 touchdowns, not a ton. Quickly, Ryan, Just look up for fun. Who's a quarterback? Let's say a guy we don't love. Daniel Jones, go look at him. If you gave me 23 touchdowns and eight picks, a passerating in the high 80s,

and he completes about 63.5%, 64%. That's where it gets tough because that's okay. That's okay, but he's opening the season against a lot of weak defenses. and they've got some really interesting offensive talent and an offensive coach. So if it's 23 touchdowns, 8 picks, 88 quarterback rating, 64% completion percentage with an offensive coach. And what we don't think is a great division in a weaker conference, you got to kind of stick with him.

So, you know, I would hope he could get the 3,400, 3,500 passing yards. like that's what I would need to say or see for me not to draft another quarterback. So I'll give you an example, Daniel Jones. One of the reasons I'm pushing back on Daniel Jones is he has Sequin Barclay, a brilliant offensive coach, a great left tackle. They're okay at receiver, certainly not ideal, but a great defense to often give him the ball back in good field position. And it was 15 touchdowns, five picks and a 92 passer rating.

So my take with Daniel Jones is, dude, you've got to give me a little more seal. You're going to give me more than 15 touchdown passes. Now, it's not a great receiving core. But the Giants decided that 3,200 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and a 92 passer rating, they gave the bag to that. Now, my takeaway is that's what I want to see with a defensive coach. When you give me an offensive coach, I want about 20% better numbers. So let's say, for instance, Jordan Love gave me 3,200 passing yards, 15 TDs, 5.5.

pick 67% completion percentage 92 passer rating. I wouldn't love it, but I think you'd have to double down on that. You couldn't move off it. I mean, if he gets Daniel Jones numbers, and by the way, both have a very good left tackle, both have running back support, both have an offensive coach, Giants have a better defense. Yeah, I think if he gets Daniel Jones numbers last year, I mean, 67% completion percentage and very very few interceptions. He's not losing you games.

And that's probably what he is. He not going to win me a bunch of games, but if Jordan won't lose games, you're probably like, all right, we'll try it one more year. Hour two on a Friday, live in Los Angeles. It's the herd.

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, SNL'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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan,

so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff To Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.