The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Expectations for Caleb Williams, the Steelers defense, the Dodgers are struggling

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

Colin sets expectations for Caleb Williams this season and why he should improve with new head coach Ben Johnson after a rollercoaster rookie year. He's not convinced the Steelers will have a "historic" defense after head coach Mike Tomlin claims the team could be set up for greatness Colin talks about the Dodgers getting swept by the Angels and them struggling even though they have the highest payrollSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You know, Jay Mack I was thinking about this on Fox Sunday night. I'm not sure if I've ever been this Jack to watch a preseason game. It's Caleb Williams and the Bears taking on the Buffalo Bills. And Ben Johnson has said, we're playing starters. And we've seen this preseason Mahomes and Burrough and veterans are playing. Everybody's playing.

But this week, they held out Caleb Williams. And so on talk about this, we tend to think as fans and media. We tend to think if you're really talented, that the problems are always solvable. Carmelo Anthony, well, he's a great athlete. He'll commit to defense eventually. He never did.

James Harden never committed to the defensive end. MJ did, Kobe did, LeBron did, Durant has, even Steph Curry, who's not great, did, Bird did. Mello James Harden never did. Could have. Lucas never really committed to defense. Well, he's in great shape. He'll use that for offense. My guess, not for defense.

not we tend to think though like we all know that sean mcvay could not make jared goff fast or kyle shanahan may have made matt ryan an MVP but he couldn't make him a great athlete but when we see these great talents we think wow you can solve their problems Aaron rogers has been aloof his entire career j cutler's temperament was not a winning temperament in the nflb and cutler was really talented and so is Aaron Rogers. Kyler Murray, is he really as committed as Tom Brady was.

He's certainly talented enough to be. We think commitment's just getting in a little early, staying a little late. Doesn't work that way. When you're a great athlete like Caleb Williams, there are some things that come easy and you really never develop them. Right?

Like I always said, there's very few supermodels, male or female, that have been neurosurgeons. They don't have to be, right? So I look at Caleb, and this is the part that I'm very optimistic. Last year with two different head coaches and two different play callers, a total circus and an egregiously bad offensive line, here were the numbers. 62 and a half percent completion percentage, 88 passer rating, 20 touchdown, six picks. Those are not terrible. if he just improved just with Ben Johnson

very very a luxury offensive mind and a very big upgrade on the offensive line. If he just improved 15% look at the numbers. He's a pro bowler. 71% completion percentage. 23 touchdowns, only 5 picks and a 101 pass rating.

You would be you would be a pro bowler. 15% a 15% is a huge return in the stock market on an annual basis. But 15% tweaking,

that's kind of what McVeigh did to Jared Goff. If you go look at the Goff numbers, I mean, I was looking at him this morning, it's not like he took Jared Goff from 54% completion and percentage to 70. He took him 54 to 62. Right?

like not the passer rating because basically golf was on his back with a Jeff Fisher staff, but it was a lot of tweaking, but he couldn't make him a great athlete. My question with Caleb Williams, are his issues like Carmelo? He could do it or Luca. He could do it that he just don't want to. He just wants to tuck it and run. Lamar Jackson could have tucked it and run his way to Pro Bowls. But he didn't want to do just that.

So Lamar Jackson has developed into a really good pocket quarterback. He didn't have to. He was winning a lot of games his first year and a half, not great from the pocket. But above the shoulders, Lamar Jackson, a relentless competitor said, I'm going to get better in the pocket. And he did. But it doesn't always work that way. So there are certain things in Chicago that are not solvable.

The winter weather, the bears weaker than average ownership, are not solvable. The question becomes, can he improve 15% because coaches, offensive coaches, are great at tweaking. They are not magicians. Nobody could make Jay Cutler joyful. Nobody's been able to make Kyler's commitment obsessive. You know, nobody's ever been able to get Aaron Rogers out of that passive-aggressive nonsense. or Mello to shoot a three or Luca to play defense. Not all issues are solvable.

Fifteen percent improvement from Ben, though. And you have a Pro Bowl quarterback. And that's why I say you've got to get them on the field. Brian Baldiger came on the show yesterday and agrees. Just get them on the field and let's figure out, solvable or unsolvable. Let's figure it out by like Thanksgiving. Okay, great. You're toughening the team up.

They needed to get tougher mentally. Let's put the quarterback out there. You've upgraded to the offense line. You can't be the least bit worried about him getting hurt. He was sacked 68 times and never hurt last year. Put him out there. Let him show the world that this offense fits him, and he can do the things that Ben Johnson wants him to do.

There's no point to hide him. He needs to play in this offense, and he needs to get the ball out of his hands and win from the pocket. So people think I'm picking on the Pittsburgh Steelers, but every even Hall of Fame coach has a little bit of a hole. We saw it with Bill Belichick. He started taking over the drafts, and the last seven New England Patriot drafts where Belichick had ultimate control sitting with his dog in that Nantucket table making picks.

They were awful. Bill had a hole in his game, and his hole was he was not good at drafting. He reached on multiple offensive linemen, multiple wide receivers. He was pretty good on drafting the defensive side, especially corners, line. linebacker's safeties, he was dreadful on offense. Did he ever draft a wide receiver? I mean, he had to go get Randy Moss already a pro. West Welker already a pro. Edelman was a quarterback in college. Like, did they ever draft a wide receiver that panned out? He just couldn't do it. Mike Tomlin has a hole too. And I hope he's aware of it. But Mike Tomlin is talking about the

Steeler defense. He said, oh, this thing, listen to this. This thing is going to be historic. Here's Mike Tomlin on this year's potential Steeler defense. We feel really good about the prospects of this group. We do. We got to write that story. But we got enough talent. We got enough schematics to do big, big things. And when I say big things, I'm talking about historic things.

It's really hard to be a historic defense when you can't sustain drives offensively. And this to me is the whole in Tomlin's game. He's a motivator. He develops. He knows defense. But if you noticed last year, too, what happened in the last five or six games to the Steelers' defense, it falls apart because they're on the field the whole season. Last year, last five games, their defense, last in the league in opponents' passerating.

Dead last. Quarterbacks ate them alive. They gave up 400 yards a game, 27 and a half points a game. The point differential was minus 66. Bottom of the league. So this year's defense is going to be historic because you added Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey, both bass for prime. The Steelers can't develop consistent run games.

And there's a reason Philadelphia's defense or Baltimore's defense are dominating. Yes, part of its personnel. The other part is Lamar Jackson and Derek Henry keep the defense off the field, so they're arrested. And by the way, that's what Philadelphia, Jalen Hertz and Sequin, Barclay in the O'Line. So when the defense is on the field, they are arrested and ready to go. Pittsburgh's defense last year with T.J. Watt, with Cam Hayward, Minka Fitzpatrick, was dreadful because they're on the field the entire game. And as the NFL keeps expanding the season,

we're now at 17 games. Many suspect it will be 18. You will not. not have a great defense in the NFL going forward. If we go to 18 games, you will not have a great defense without a complimentary above average run game. That is too many games to have your defense on the field. Remember that playoff game last year with the Ravens? Do you see time of possession? Ravens 40 minutes, Steelers 20 minutes? You can't be a great defense in these elongated seasons. I mean, even college football is going to 14, 15 games after the playoff. If you don't have a run game, I don't care how good Alabama's defense is. More guys get hurt.

More guys are exhausted. Pittsburgh's defense was terrible at the end of last year. Because they couldn't move the change. That's what Belichick always got. He kept Dante Scarnacki around, best offensive line coach ever. They always had an above-average run game. They didn't lead the NFL in sacks. They didn't lead the NFL in interceptions year after year,

but their defense was fresh, usually healthy, go to the sidelines, get on the ice, iPad. What did we do wrong? Sustained drives. Brady picking up first downs. Just move the chains. Seven-minute drives. Even if you only get a field goal or don't score. Let the defense rest. Going forward, there will be no great NFL defense.

A 17-18 game schedule consistently without a good run game. And the Steelers cannot build a run game. And you know, the only thing that's historic is that the historic nature of the Steelers is once again they lead the NFL in defensive spending. In the last four years, haven't been a top 10 defense. That's virtually impossible to do historically. If you spend the most money on the side of the ball and you do it for four straight years, it is virtually unheard of that it's not top 10. And yet the Steelers last four years haven't. Because their run game stunk. It's not that complicated. I think it's the hold in his game.

All right, Jay Mack, we got a lot. Greg CoSell is going to be joining. us, the Angels swept the Dodgers. The Brewers and the Angels this year have swept the Dodgers. Did you listen to the Taylor Swift stuff? What Taylor Swift? You didn't hear Taylor Swift on that New Heights podcast? I was unaware of that happened. Of course I heard about it.

My daughter watched the whole thing. No, I did not pay attention. What does she make of it? She's a fan of Taylor Swift. You know, we went to the concert. I don't know that there's anything super interesting in there. Let me go back to your Pittsburgh point for a set, Colin. Can you run a business?

I've run a business. Can you think of really? running a business, finding no success where it matters most, the bottom line, for like four years in a row, and then let's not change anything. Let's just double down on what's not working. Like, how can Pittsburgh think let's keep doing this? Like, what am I missing here? That's just bad business. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's so, and again, even the great coaches have a whole, Belichick and personnel, offensive personnel. He just couldn't do it. Last seven years, the proofs in the pudding. Jerry Jones, smart guy, vanity and ego. It's his hole. Everybody's got one.

Temperament for Elon Musk, a bit of a hole. He found that out dealing with our president. Everybody's got a hole no matter how smart they are. And I think Mike Tomlans is he's unable to develop a run game to allow his defense to win the time of possession battle. You can't keep at, remember, there's more injuries historically on the defensive side than the offensive side. defensive guys are there to blow stuff up. I mean, that's what you do as a defensive player. Hair on fire, fast as you can, blow stuff up. More defensive players get hurt over a season than offensive players.

And by the way, as defensive players get older and expensive, they get hurt more often. So the Steelers now are an old football team on defense, T.J. Watt, Cam Hayward, 37, Slay, Ramp. You know, they're an old defense. They're an expensive defense. and what's that mean when you can't develop a run game? By the way, the guy they drafted, not been impressive as camp, not in camp, Naji Harris, gone. So there's no indication they have struggled to run the ball in camp.

It's going to be any different. Yeah, they feel like a business, like a Kodak or Xerox. They just don't see that you need to reboot or reinvent yourself. We think it's a passing league. The top six rushing teams last year on the NFL all made the playoffs. Three of the top five teams in total. defense last year did not. So we know the defense isn't as impactful as it used to be based on the rule changes. But the great defenses almost all have something in common. Baltimore,

Philadelphia, they have a complementary run game to keep the defense off the field. That's why the push is so valuable to the defense. I mean, they just convert third and fourth downs. That is another four to five minutes of real time. defense can be resting. Yeah. You want your defense to go to the sideline, go to the iPad, what do we do wrong, get a Gatorade, relax, smelling salts. Yeah, and come out, hair on fire.

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. Hi, this is Jay. I'm the producer of the Paul and Tony Fuscoe show. Usually in these promos, they ask you to listen to the show. I'm here to ask you, please don't listen to this show. The hosts are two absolute morons who have the dumbest takes on sports imaginable. Don't listen to this show so it can get canceled.

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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.

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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.

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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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect.

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You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart 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 beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people.

who live them. Listen to SportsSlic. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. You are now entering the No Bull Zone, sponsored by credible, great race, none of the Bull. So the Dodgers, everybody's terrified of the Dodgers. It's Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Shohei Otani, unlimited resources, unlimited money, L.A. Economy. Oh, watch out. They just got swept by the angels. Swept. The hottest team in baseball now is the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Blue Jays in a division with the Yankees and Red Sox are leading handily. The Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees are all struggling and have now three highest payrolls, all fallen out of first place. Baseball has not had a repeat champion since the Yankees in 99 and 2000. And outside of the COVID year, the Dodgers have been out of the first place. spending almost everybody in baseball for over a decade and they've got one world series title yet the salary cap hard NFL the hard cap in the NFL right no dynasties have been dominated that league's been dominated for 25 years by the

patriots bill bellichick Brady Andy Reid Chiefs Patrick Mahomes dominated dominated and college sports you know which until recently didn't really Hey players has always had dynasties. So I keep looking at the last 11 World Series champs. Yeah, the Dodgers have a couple, one of them COVID, but I see, you know, I see the Nats and I see the giants and I see the Royals and the Astros and the Rangers and the Braves and the, I don't see the Yankees. And so, and I go up and if you're listening on radio, Dodgers, Rangers, Astros, Braves, Nats, Red Sox, Astros, Cubs, Royals, Giants, no Yankees. no Mets. So, and I know Rob Manfred would like to see more parity among salaries,

but Cincinnati's not Los Angeles. The economies aren't the same. If you want to contract and get rid of Cincinnati, which I would not do, okay, fine. But every league has a bottom 30%. So does the live and PGA tour. So does every tennis tour. so does college basketball college football the same nine teams have dominated college basketball my entire life UCLA used to be greater they're still viable the same eight college football teams have

dominated it my entire life the NBA just signed an 11 year 76 billion dollar deal Sacramento has never mattered revenue or ratings never mattered Memphis now doesn't matter OKC won the title. I'm not sure they matter. So this literally this constant fear mongering of baseball's in an incredible place right now. Dodgers are a mess. Yankees and Mets falling out of first. Brewers on fire with their manager eating in-game pancakes.

He stuffs in his pockets. Look at it. Right now, look at the brands in baseball. Look at the best records in baseball. I mean, the Phillies, Dodgers, Cubs, Tigers, Mets, Yankees, Red Sox probably make the playoffs. Those are great brands. The Brewers may win it all.

The Tigers' best staff may win at all. So when I said this yesterday, there's, even in socialism, countries driven by socialism, regulated by socialism, their hierarchies, you're never going to have perfect parity if you put Cincinnati in a league with a team from New York in Los Angeles. Generally speaking, especially in the NFL, who are the best owners? Those are the organization winning titles. The Celtics have had really good ownership most of my life.

They're always viable. The Dodgers, really good ownership. Knicks, Wizards, not really. stop the fear mongering. Baseball's in a great place. The Brewers are absolutely on fire. And the Dodgers are a mess. And here's Dave Roberts after getting swept by the angels.

Now it's a new season. So, you know, you look at the standings and we just got to play better baseball and find ways to win games. If you go to club soccer, Barcelona, Real Madrid, a man city. go anywhere in the globe go to the german soccer league the french soccer league you go to uh english premier league they're always relegating the same teams it's it's just it's just the way it is i watch tiger woods do it in golf for 10 years 15 years i watched jack to it for 15 before then so you know watching the dodgers get swept by the angels which should never happen but it did

it's baseball j mac with the news No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, let's pivot to the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys. Listen, Jerry Jones keeps them in the news. What can we say? Micah Parsons' situation remains unsolved as they have their final padded practice at Oxnard yesterday.

Parsons has not spoken to the media since the first day of camp on July 22nd. So we're closing on a month. And Jerry Jones did not have much of an update. Get a load of this, Colin. What's preventing you guys from talking right now? Again, the, really, nothing. We might or might not talk. And the rest of that gets in what we do every day.

Is there a deadline to know whether Micah Parsons plans to play in week one or not? No, not at all. You don't have deadlines when you're playing under a contract. Very interesting. You don't have deadlines when you're playing under a contract. That's like a shot. That's a shot at Micah. Well, no, that's the truth.

Oh, stop it, Colin. That's not. Technically, yes, that is the truth. Oh, technically. Well, contracts are technical. Hey, I'll give you a j-walking ticket, okay? Technically is not a big deal, but technically, you're jaywalking. I would have to pay the ticket, or it would compound in interest.

That's right, yeah. So Michael Parsons could theoretically sit out the season. theoretically he could, but he would not get paid and he would get fine because there's a contract with a CBA that doesn't allow that. So contractually, Jerry is right. There is no deadline. You've got a year left on your contract. Jerry's on, you don't have to like this. But there is no rule that I have to pay you a year early.

No, that is a hundred thousand percent. When you're getting increasingly banged up, you're not practicing. I do not have to pay you a year early. Wait, hold on. Do you think that they're not paying him because he's increasingly banged up and all that? I think there's a lot of. factors and one of them is, why aren't you practicing? Because I want my new contract. Everybody in my

draft class is getting a new contract. I have to do what the Mariners do. I have to do. Why do I have to do what poorly run teams do? Sure, you don't have to. You could send a signal to other free agents that this is how we do business. And do you think those free agents are going to want to get in bed with you? Nobody's winning this league because of free agents. They're winning it because of quarterback play, drafting it in a valid. Free agency has never equal Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles just added an all pro linebacker in Zachon. and Sequin Barclay and won the Super Bowl.

They won the Super Bowl because their offensive line, all drafted and developed outside of Mackay-Becton, is all theirs. They did not win a Super Bowl because it's Seekwon Barclay. He added to the deepest roster by a mile in the league. Derek Henry made the Ravens interesting. They were great before he got there. They were winning gains. Nobody's winning the Super Bowl through free agency.

This threat, if you don't treat Damien Lillard good for the Blazers, no player will ever go to Portland. Nonsense. If I call your agent and say, here's $300 million, you're going to the Blazers. That is a threat that agents have made forever. It doesn't hold water at all. Players, as they should be are selfish and worried about themselves and their family. Free agency is never in the NFL equal championships.

In fact, I can argue the opposite has happened. Teams that overspend in it ruined chemistry. It's like the NIL, the transfer portal. USC, LSU, Colorado are using it a ton. Notre Dame's not, and they're winning more football. Clemson's not, they have a top three team. So this idea that, oh, they're not paying Micah. So what?

If they offered somebody else huge money, they would go tomorrow to Dallas. I mean, it seems unlikely they would offer someone else huge money, given they won't even pay Micah. I just think he's bungled this, Colin. I know you like to side with the billionaire owners. But this is not Cincinnati, where they struggle with every contract. The Cowboys have made Dak the highest paid quarterback before and made CD Lamb. How's that working out?

Well, that's not the point. Stay on your point. They pay people. They're not paying Micah. They overpaid for that linebacker from Notre Dame coming off an injury. I forget the name Jaylon Smith. Jaylon Smith. They paid him too much.

Dak, I think they paid too much. CD Lamb, they paid him about right. They paid people all. They paid Demarcus Lawrence. They've paid all sorts. They paid Zach Martin for years. Tyron Smith for you. Cowboys have never.

They've never been cheap. In fact, I'd argue they should pay earlier, and then they don't have to wait and pay as much as they do. But Micah is a rare. We're not paying this. This is Cincinnati does this annually. The Chargers used to do this annually. This is not what Jerry does annually.

Yeah. So getting to the root of why he's dug in his heels for Micah Parsons is strange. I mean, he did this with Dak. It did not work out well. they sign him to a huge deal. What do you have to show for it? And now he's waited for Micah, and it's like every day he's in front of 50 microphones. If Micah sits out the year and comes back, he still has to play into the contract with a year left.

So all the leverage is with Jerry Jones in Dallas. He's getting increasingly hurt. He hasn't done anything in the playoffs. Edge rushers are much more replaceable than quarterbacks. That's why you pay DAC. I've told you before, if I had to pay three players on a team, it would be quarterback left tackle. There's an argument in 2025. Third should be a weapon. A puka, a Amaranza. The only defensive player I will absolutely move the Brinks truck over is for a dominant interior de-lineman.

Chris Jones, Aaron Donald, a Reggie White, a Jalen Carter. That body type is, you know, getting a guy that's 613 with great feet is impossible. You can find edge rushers. Now, Miles Garrett, I would pay. But a lot of these guys on this list, you can find them. The market college football delivers them on an annual basis. By the ways, let's see, playoffs last year. Steelers did not win. Browns didn't make it.

Yeah. Texans won one. Crosby did not make it. Niners did not make it. Jets did not make it. Yeah. So, I mean, listen, I'm with you on that. But you could have got one of these deals two years ago for Mike.

I would just pay them early. All right. Let's move on to the Ravens Conval. and Derek Henry last season. I did not know this. He had over 1,900 yards rushing. They were, Derek Henry and Lamar combined one of the most prolific quarterback running duos in NFL history.

It combined for over 2,800 yards. Henry said joining Lamar and the Ravens was even better than expected adding things were electric. That's a good free agent move for the Ravens. But a little short in the airport. Yeah, Dallas could have had him probably last year. No, no, we pre-a-gent move. on this show for a year before,

we're like, go get Derek Henry. You can get him for cheap, and the Ravens did. That's why the Ravens are perpetually good. Owner, Steve Bushotti and the executive suite, and John Harbaugh, like they all work in unison. Derek Henry was a steal. I didn't think it would be this good. I thought he was, I mean, so physical,

I figured there'd be some erosion or regression. He's been unbelievable. It may happen next year, Colin. I looked historically when he has a lot of carries, like over 325. The next year there's some pullback. I will say, can you remind me the last time you saw Steve Bouchotti, the owner of the Ravens, at training camp fielding questions from the media?

Do you remember when that was? You know, what's funny about Steve Bouchotti is he really does pull all the levers there. But quietly, behind the scenes. Not for a show. There are, I don't know if there's another owner in the NFL. And I'm serious that has more of a say on draft day than Steve Bouchade. Steve Bouchardie is all over the Ravens, but he doesn't, he's not driven by vanity.

He's a great boss, one of the really good billionaire's in this league. I've talked to multiple people in the league that say he's the best owner in the league. Yeah, even during the Lamar, remember two years ago, Lamar, he stayed out of it. His mom was like negotiating. Washati wasn't involved and giving us weekly updates on it. No, he was involved, but he hides. Exactly. Jerry, take notes.

Final story, Colin, Eagles, Brown's joint practices this week ahead of the preseason matchup Saturday. How about this moment? Schinduhran Hertz and the two went for a ride in a golf cart. Here's what they had to, here's what Hertz said about their chat. There's a sense of obligation to be yourself. And that's who I am to, you know, be honest and genuine and expressing how I got to where I am today. Ultimately, it takes a great deal of patience and hard work and a sense of resilience.

You know, you got to want it. You know, you got to want it. And so I'm supporting him from where I am and wishing him none but the best with his opportunities. Good guy to learn from. Yeah, Chadour, hopefully, was taking notes there. I like that. Jalen Hurts, such a leader.

You know, Colin, in that quarterback tiers list, I don't think they have a leadership quotient where it's like gives a golf cart ride to a fifth round pick who's been maligned by the media. Another thing, Jalen Hertz has it. back pocket that I love. Now he's 27 going on 47. J-Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. It's always better to start out as a tough parent and then lighten up. Because if you start out as ice cream for breakfast dad, your kids won't take you

seriously. And one NFL team had a practice yesterday, a joint practice that is being called a disaster. A disaster. Ice cream for breakfast. Dad is unraveling in Miami. We'll talk about that, man. 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, 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 a...

We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with the name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

Well, 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 Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an occupier Pella 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.

Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in

American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming off? me. Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart 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-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, Follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Saturday, it's baseball night in America as AL MVP frontrunner, Aaron Judge, leads the Yankees against the Cardinals. Or the AL Central leading tigers take on the twins. Check local listings for the game in your area. Saturday, 70s turn on Fox. So when Tom Coughlin coached the New York Giants, he came in hot. He had been coaching at college. He goes to Jacksonville. He goes to the Giants.

And he was intense. And eventually the owner sat him down and said, you got to lighten up a little bit. You know, the player counsel is like, hey, coach, you got to lighten up a little bit. He did and they won Super Bowls. But it's okay because he still, he was always accountable when he was a taskmaster or he lightened up. He was still holding people accountable. But I find this with parents, managers that I've had in my career, you can't come in soft and then become tough guy. Everybody rolls their eyes.

And this is what I've said. The media chooses who they like in. don't like. They didn't like Brian Flores. He didn't give you any access. Like Urban Meyer in college, even though he was winning games, he wouldn't give you any access. And so the media is like, oh, we don't like that guy. We don't like that person. Pete Carroll gave you a bunch of access at USC. Everybody loved him. And so I think with Brian Flores, he goes into Miami. This is the coach before Mike McDowell. He goes into Miami, no access. He's tough on everybody. And he's, he's He breaks down the culture.

First eight weeks, he just breaks it down. They go one in seven. From that point forward, until he was fired, they were something. They were five and four, bottom five penalized team in the league with upgraded special teams. Okay. Mike McDaniel, not a guy that holds people accountable, fun-loving, the snarky hipster. They're a top five penalized team since he's been a coach of the Dolphins. Brian Flore is a bottom five.

penalized team. Why? Accountability, which is something now Mike McDaniel is stressing. So yesterday, the dolphins had a practice with the Lions. The quote here is, it was as lob-sighted a joint NFL practice as I've ever seen. Apparently, Tua got banged up, Zach Wilson got banged up. A linebacker for the Lions, Grant Stewart, said,

I don't even know if they practice how we practice. But again, you can't be a bowl of jello. That's what Miami is. A lot of movement. No meat in the sandwich. Brian Flores was rough. He didn't treat everybody well.

He has grown since then, and I think remains the best defensive coordinator in the league. Top two. He and Spags. But Miami was something by like week nine on. They didn't commit penalties. They took the ball away. The special teams were buttoned up.

You didn't have to love him. He didn't get along with two up. But they were something. And that's why I say with Miami and Mike McDaniel, what are they? I don't know what they are. And again, I understand it takes a while to break down the culture. But I would argue today, Miami doesn't even have a culture. And it all starts with lack of accountability.

And that's why Brian Flores came in hot. He probably should have lightened up. He now has in Minnesota. But I would hire Brian Flores. Mike McDaniels came in as everybody's friend, and now he's trying to create accountability, and it's hard. And that's not a shot at Mike. It's hard.

Jason, Garrett, and Dallas tried to do that, and people just didn't buy it. Because he was everybody's, you know, the clapery was everybody's buddy. It was hard. Wade Phillips in his career is a really likable guy. It's hard to buy in. He's a taskmaster. Harbaugh can come in hot to Stanford, San Francisco, Michigan, comes in hot, and then can lighten up and be more joyful.

I mean, at the end in Michigan, Harbaugh was a lot of fun. And so here's Mike McDaniel on the Lions player that said, I don't even know if they practice like we do. Literally does not affect me whatsoever. I think there's a lot of noise, and I would file that into the noise category. Well, it's noise, but it's not necessarily.

necessarily, there's some validation. The noise is just a comment that's right. Okay, so Taylor Swift went on the Travis Kelsey podcast. It's called New Heights. It's the Kelsey Brothers. It's very popular. And people got really worked up last year, and it was really ridiculous. So she would be on Chiefs game.

She would be on TV. And whoever was airing the Chiefs game, which they were on every network. They played every day. but Tuesday last year. So people would get worked up over it, which I called him out, because if you looked at the time she was on screen, it was like 34 seconds per game.

I mean, networks would show her, obviously, as the world's biggest pop star, just like they would show, you know, a spice girl, marry the David Beckham,

you know, if Beckham was playing, I mean, Derek Jeter didn't get married, but Derek Jeter, he had a very fruitful life as the Yankee. This is, we live in this world now. Celebrities get celebrities.

But here was Taylor Swift. She is, it sounds real here. You got to give her credit, I know some of you guys aren't comfortable with this, because she's on screen for 34 seconds. And I would argue celebrities get celebrities, they get the intensity, they get the nonsense, you know, they get people taking pictures constantly. Like I get it.

They get each other. Here is her talking actually about football. I fell in love with it. I became obsessed with it. I became like a person who was running through the halls of my house, screaming, we drafted Xavier Worthy. And my friends are like, what is, who body snatched you? This is, this is, this is, what do you mean?

We're talking about cover two, cover four, cover zero, man, cover it. We're talking, we're, we're learning. Yes. And so it's okay. We're all going to be okay. She's going to be shown for 34 seconds. Travis Kelsey's retiring after the year. but you know I've heard this before

they're using each other well I would argue they get each other that Travis Kelsey is Saturday night live he's on GQ magazine he was already popular because he was so great in football he's good looking he's got a great person it's not like he hosted Saturday Night Live before Taylor Swift

I mean he was a very popular guy he was Mahomes biggest ally on the offense it's not like he wasn't big but I I will say I've been a little shocked at how myopic and rigid sports fans have been with this. David Beckham married a spice girl. Derek Cheater had celebrity girlfriends.

Russell Wilson's married to a singer. Folks, it's hard for Taylor Swift, the world's biggest musical act. In fact, not only that, I read just two days ago on Apple Watch, she has pulled away from the rest of the industry. Who do you want her to date? Got the true value hardware store? I mean, let's be serious here. Celebrities get celebrities.

I mean, Justin Verlander. Didn't he marry Kate Upton, the supermodel? So just ask yourself, were you bothered by Derek Jeter or Russell Wilson or David Beckham? I think a lot of this is we as Americans are very tribal about our football, but this idea that networks can't show Taylor Swift for 34 seconds, folks, do you realize there's 12 and a half minutes of football in a four-hour broadcast? they're showing you a lot that is non-football.

I've seen every male in Buffalo jump off their minivan onto a table on a pregame show. That you can cut back. I'm done seeing that. I'm done seeing cheesehead guy. That is a cliche I'm done with. I can live with a 34 seconds. By the way, Aaron Rogers, who has a mysterious wife,

has twice-dated celebrities. This is just like the way it's going to, There are, in America, athletes, there are royal family. In the UK, you have a royal family. You have princes in Monaco, right? In America, our royal family, our superstar athletes, and, you know, movie stars. That's our royal family. Here was more Taylor on the new influx of female fans to football.

a lot of the women and girls maybe they maybe they like watched one game to see them each year on my boyfriend or whatever but if they if they stayed which is what people are saying based on the numbers that's because the game is so great and it's such an amazing interesting thing to learn about yeah it's great on television I mean it's the reason the Netflix um Amazon Primes

uh the Hulus the Paramounts The reason these companies do well, good content. It's not because we like paying our Netflix bill every month. They offer really good documentaries, and it's the best actors and the best writers and the best directors and producers. And that's what the NFL is. The NFL is great content. Baseball can be slow. There's not a lot of urgency with the NBA season.

It's long. Soccer's over on Apple TV. I'm not paying for that. The NFL's great content. Sorry, Jay Mack. didn't mean you take a shot, would you? I mean, let me ask you this. Nobody complained about the obligatory and relentless shots of fireman Ed for 30 years. We can't be bothered by 34 seconds of Taylor Swift. Fireman Ed, I am over. That one I'm over. I kind of look forward to the Taylor Swift

six second shot four times a game. Yeah, I will say the whole Taylor Swift running around screaming, we got Xavier Worthy. That's pretty cool. Now, I know in my house, I can hype the Jets with our draft picks. But my family's not all excited. I like the Taylor Swift's bought in and talking about cover two, cover three, man. Like, that's kind of cool. I don't know.

I'm impressed. I mean, I assume Anne runs circles around the family room. No. When you announce USC just signed a five-star offensive line. No, no. And I do think this is genuine and authentic. Is that I think when you're young, I mean, my daughter likes sports more than my son.

She's willing to go. She goes to MLS games all the time. in Nashville. So I think it's authentic. I don't buy they're using each other. They speak that celeb language. I think they get each other. I think it's hard to be a celebrity. Celebrities have never made more in America. I happen

to, I mean, of the 12 homes, I'm sure Taylor Swift owns, I know where one of them's at, and people sit in the beach and take pictures of her home. It's like a trend. It's what people do all summer long. Who are you going to date? Who are you going to be around? You know? Yeah.

Congrats to the Kelsey's on that. All right, Greg Cosells around the corner on a Thursday. I can't wait. 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. Nice. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We get to ask other 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 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 I-Heart Radio app. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 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. Listen to the Renee Stubb's 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 IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.