The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD – HOUR 1 – Michael Penix Jr Rising FAST | Brock Purdy’s Hot Start

Episode Date: October 6, 2026

Colin discusses the Yankees being down 0-2 to the Rays while giving an interesting World Series prediction.  He talks about the Falcons dominating the Saints for Atlanta’s second straight win with Michael Penix Jr. starting at quarterback. Colin explains what the Falcons did to put Penix in a position to succeed after searching for the franchise QB for years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. The hard rock bet casino app is here, Ontario. It's safe, secure, and crystal clear with fast payouts and 24-7 local support. You can play over 3,000 games right here, including hard rock bet casino exclusives. The hard rock bet casino app is here, Ontario. Roll with us. Must be 19 years of age or older to play.

Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned about your gambling or that of someone close to you? visit connectsonterio.com. I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the hosts of Out of Character. The funniest podcast in the entire world.

Rara, the thing. The Russian queen. I like that. It's a good way to promote ourselves. We are two funny guys having fun enjoying ourselves. And we just know how to have fun, unlike anyone else.

If you guys like fun conversations, hot takes, what else? Not too hot. Just kind of lukewarm. Lukewarm takes. Just to get your mind thinking a little bit. Listen out of character on the Iheart radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever we get your podcasts.

I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast. The True Crime Comedy Podcasts, all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week, I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scammed them. What? I can talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job.

And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I guess. Hi, this is Kylie Breakman. Angel Geratana. Jeremy Colhain. Patrick McDonald. And we're the hosts of the Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists Podcast.

The Improvised Character Comedy Podcast where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Join us for a panel of Eurovision participants. And we do a little Halloween sometimes. Does the Pope dress up? He winks on Halloween. He gets right up next to the microphone. I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hit each. You never seen Italy so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween.

Listen to Artists on Artists on Artists every Thursday on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You broke me. You do not deserve happiness. I'm Andrea Gunning. On this season of betrayal, Carl thought he was living a normal, drama-free life until the messages started. Someone's not going to make it out of this alive. Every piece of evidence pointed to the wrong guy. He was not going to stop unless we stopped him. Listen to Betrayal Season 6 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 SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Tuesday. We are live. It is the herd.

Oh, that Yankee season is melting away. I can't wait for a raised Brewer's World Series. Oh, the pay disparity. Salary caps in baseball. All right, let's start with football. Sometimes in football, you'll walk. something and you think, okay, is this real? One team on a short week. One team had to travel further. One team is injured. What you're watching with Atlanta is not a mirage. Michael

Pennix broke into this league with a defensive coach. Bejohn Robinson was there. Drake London was there. Atlanta had a very good offensive line when he broke into the league. Yet through two years and 12 starts, his passer rating was in the mid-80s and he was completing 59% of his throws. Then he gets Kevin Staphans. who when Cleveland fired him, interviewed for five jobs in about 45 minutes. He lands in Atlanta with all these weapons. What do you know? Michael Pennix gets two starts with him, 113-patter rating, 73% completion percentage, and looks fantastic.

Well, Colin, it's just, that was a tough environment last night. Superdome's a tough environment last night, very emotional night in New Orleans, a divisional game. And even in the first series, they took the crowd out of the game. So young people in any industry need tutors. They need mentors. All these Atlanta pieces were there the last couple of years. He didn't have his maestro. He didn't have his conductor.

And we all watched Pennix at Washington. I watched him play live against Oregon. Outplayed Bow Nix. I watched them like you did against Texas. He always threw a beautiful ball. But he didn't have his guy. And I'm telling you, these sharp offensive coaches, they are lapping these defensive coaches.

I mean, Kirk Cousins was in Atlanta when they had a defensive coach. He looked washed. Now he's got Clint Kubiak in Vegas. He looks 28 years old. And so four of the five teams in this league that are 0 and 4 had defensive coaches. That doesn't mean all the offensive coaches. Green Bay has a problem right now are crushing. But Michael Pennix, Jr. looked like he did last night and last week like he did in college.

when he had Kalin DeBoer, one of the smartest offensive coaches and head coaches in college football. So this is a trend. I'm going to die on this hill. Atlanta has had Drake London for years and Bejohn Robinson for years and Atlanta's had above average offensive line for years

and good ownership for years and all sorts of smart people. Matt Ryan now in the front office, they've never lacked IQ, EQ, and commitment in the front office. what they've lacked is the offensive coach. This is not, you're not seeing things here right now since Pennick started with Stefanski, number one in points, number one in total yards a game, number one in rush yards,

number one in yards per play at 7.5. What you are seeing is real. But now, finally, all these high-end, high-tech parts have connectivity. So I believe Atlanta right now is a top 10 team in the. the NFL. I don't think they have a great defense, but look around this league right now. Are they just going to be Dallas? Well, they got a better coach than Dallas. Are they going to be the Colts when they can beat good teams but not great team? Well, their quarterback Michael Pennix doesn't turn it over like Daniel Jones, who I actually

thinks pretty good. So here was Stefansky on Pennix and the wildly impressive standalone Monday Night Football win. I think all these games are challenges and, you know, tough environments on the road, crowd noise, great defenses across the other side. So these are all, these are one game seasons. And we're excited about this one,

we'll learn from this one, and then we'll get to the next one. I thought Mike played well. Yeah, I thought took care of football, made some really good throws. I thought to throw late in the game on that third down, I get the ball of Draving, was an excellent play. There's a bunch of great stuff out there.

I really like Mike, his demeanor on game today. I like how he's operating. He's no mission. One hour from now, the herd hierarchy and Nick Wright. So, for whatever reasons, and I have my own theories, but we don't talk defense in baseball. We talk it in the NFL. We talk it in the NBA with Wembe and OKC.

We talk it with goaltending in hockey in the NHL, the hot goalie. We talk it in goalkeeping in world-class soccer. But we don't talk it in baseball. But we talk in baseball managers and pitching, bullpen, power, speed. We don't talk defense. But Tampa is going to force the Yankees to play defense because Tampa led Major League Baseball and singles and balls in play. And last night, they played right to the Yankees' weakness.

We haven't seen a good Yankee defense in years. They were awful last night. They're not athletic and they're not a good defensive team. They've always been more power than precision. and more errors than any other playoff team, the New York Yankees. And so power pitching and power hitting is very, very important in the playoffs, but so is playing defense. And they had four errors in the first three innings.

And this is what Tampa does. Tampa is precision. The Yankees are power. And this was very reminiscent to me of that meltdown. Remember that fifth inning meltdown game five against the Dodgers in the World Series a couple years ago where you're like, what am I watching AA baseball? So they brought in a third baseman the Yankees did. Remember that?

The Aaron Judge drop, and he never does that. So the Yankees had a third baseman, Ryan McMahon, in the lineup for defense. And it still didn't work. So this was always going to be power against placement. And Tampa has them down two games to none. And remember, in game one, again, small ball is what Tampa does. In game one, the Yankees had a base running blunder. All right.

Game two, defensive shortcomings. And the one thing about the Yankees all year, they blew a lot of teams out. They were not good in one-run games, way under 500. Why is that? Well, that's because they don't play station-to-station baseball. They're not a very good defensive team. They're more athletic than they've been in previous years. What Tampa does well is absolutely the Yankees liability.

So, and to me, it doesn't matter how powerful the car is. You've got to keep it on the road. the Yankees are largely the anti-New York Knicks. The one thing about the Knicks, they've got flaws, but you always trust them in the fourth. You always trust the Knicks in close games with Jalen Brunson. That's not what the Yankees do. They need great pitching, power pitching, and the long ball.

And, you know, they can get the home run from Ben Rice. But this series, I mean, in this series, by the way, they've got five hits and four errors. and the lowest batting average by an American League team over any two-game span in the playoffs. So this is just looking like the series that Tampa was hoping it would be. Put the ball in play, single and double them to death, force the Yankees to be athletic and play defense. It's not their strength.

Try to avoid the long ball. It has looked exactly precisely what Tampa wanted it to look like, and here's Aaron Boone. a really rough night to say the least for us. So, you know, we've got to get over it. You know, we've responded all year to difficult times, and we've got to do that again. Yeah, ugly, ugly. So, and I think everybody, I've said this with the staff, I've been joking.

I want a Brewers' Race World Series. It won't necessarily be a ratings bonanza for Fox, but it will prove I believe to be true, which is we spend way too much time worrying about salaries and payrolls. Toronto didn't make the playoffs. Mets awful, huge payroll. And a lot of these big payroll teams face each other in the wildcard round and knock each other out of it. Three of the four teams that got to buy are low payroll teams. So, and the Dodgers play later today against the Braves in what will be one of the most dynamic postseason games so far. But, you know, big market cubs are gone.

Yankees in trouble. Red Sox out. That's where we stand right now. Jay Mack, I know you grow up a Yankee fan. We don't talk a ton of baseball, but that was fairly in-up last night. Yeah, we'll probably talk more baseball when the Brewers meet the White Sox in the World Series, right? I'm sure we'll be doing that leading the show every day. A rough one for the Yanks.

It's not over, but maybe they should extend this to a seven-game series. It just feels like it's too. Come on. Two games on the road. It's tough. Routen Yanks, big one today for the Dodgers. Huge. Also, Padres, we need them to extend it, you know, despite what some political folks think.

We need San Diego. It's a great city. It's a lovely city. I love it. I like the Padres. We don't need anything. What we need is great baseball. We'll be fine.

Whoever wins wins. Like good football last time. We did Falcons, huh? B. John Robinson? Again, been there for years. Okay. Drake London, been there for years. They've had a very good offensive line for years. And I think we both agree on this.

I root for franchises to find their franchise quarterback. I'm not a fan of Deshawn Watson, but I'd rather he play well than poorly because it's better content. When I turn on that red zone one o'clock window, you know, or noon window wherever you live, on Sunday, I'm not looking for a lot of Cam Ward. Yeah. I'm not looking for, you know, I want stuff that works.

I, and I watch Pennix last night, and I'm like, that is wildly entertaining football. Do they beat the Steelers in week one with Pennix? Because Cooper Rush gave them nothing, and they barely lost on the TJ Wat Pick 6. And that Carolina game, week two. Cooper Rush, two turnovers in the first five plays. Yeah. I mean, Atlanta could be looking at three and one or four and O if they had Pennix for all their games.

Yeah, it's, they, that was not a mirage last night. They are fast and skilled and panics. By the way, they're not getting to them either. You worry about his injuries. But right now, today, you don't want anything to do with Atlanta. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, is Kavino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio? Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show. Yep, that's right. You can now watch Covino and Rich Live on YouTube every day. All you got to do, search Covino and Rich FSR on YouTube. Again, go to YouTube, search Covino and Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube, subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon, and comment away. The music you love. Your favorite radio stations.

Everywhere you go. The podcasts everyone's talking about. All in one place and it's free Whatever you want to hear Listen anytime anywhere Music, radio, podcasts Unlimited audio It's on the free IHurt Radio app

One app, no subscription Always free Grab the free app Everywhere you go Always free Download the free IHR radio app today I'm Hamza And we're the hosts of Out of Character

It's a podcast, I know, there's a lot of them to listen to these days. How are you going to get to us? Well, there's a specific reason why you should listen to us. We are the best podcast in the entire world. I swear. I know, bold, but why don't we list some of the things we might talk about on a regular episode? So sometimes we'll talk about, I don't know, the Uber driver we just had. And how nice they were, or if we tip them or not, come and find out. Sometimes we'll talk about that weird news story from last week. It's the one you're thinking about, trust me. Or maybe we'll talk about music and what's happening in the underground, or drama and music or TV shows or the Met Gala and what the actors wore.

What we're saying is we're not afraid to talk about everything under the sun. And if you want to see what that's like, come join us. It's a place where everyone can hang out, anyone. Wherever you're from, whatever you're like, you're welcome. Listen to out of character from Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Pods, or wherever you get your podcasts. You broke me. You do not deserve happiness.

I'm Andrea Gunning. On this season of betrayal, we meet Carl Bryant. Carl thought he was living a normal drama-free life until the messages started. You will have hell to pay. For nine months, someone infiltrated every aspect of Carl's life threatening to ruin him. Cyberstalking, swatting, extortion, impersonation. And then the text threats escalated. Someone's not going to make it out of this.

alive. This apartment. It's playing out in real life, not just on the phone. Every piece of evidence pointed to one man. But every piece of evidence was a lie. He was not going to stop unless we stopped him. Listen to Betrayal Season 6 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm former U.S. Women's National Soccer team player, Carly Lloyd.

I'm Fox Sports reporter Jenny Taft. And on our new podcast, whatever it takes, we're talking motherhood, marriages, careers, and figuring out how to balance it all. And we'll discuss the game that brought us together because nothing is off limits. Do you remember your initial reaction when Fox called you to be a part of the World Cup?

I was like, no, I don't want to do it. You said no? I played with players that didn't... I don't think that they really, truly love the game. I found the love with the ball at my foot. But in my head, it was the long game. It was like, I don't care what I'm being asked to do at Fox. I'm going to go get some reps, and I'm going to learn it and love it and embrace it.

He said, this group of people will never be in the same room as part of the same team ever again in your life. And it is your job to make sure that you enjoy the moment. You're proud of what you accomplish together. Listen to whatever it takes with Carly Lloyd and Jenny Taft on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you can. get your podcasts. There are thousands of podcasts that can tell you how to better yourself. Get Worse with Kyle Pru is not one of those podcasts. So if you're interested in getting thinner, going to therapy, starting peptides, setting boundaries, taking supplements, making your better getting closure, then I would humbly recommend other podcasts. But if you're

interested in blackmail, love bombing, cloning yourself, or getting revenge, then we've got a little something, something for a dastardly individual like you. Take a listen to some of the incredible advice we've given so far. Fake a back injury. Get the spray tan, up your alcohol consumption. Only women should be allowed to have guns. Kill them. Kill them.

Kill them for the gun. Listen, it's already over. I'm all about lying if it's something that really happened. The next time a bear is running at you, you just calmly stop what you're doing. You look the bear in the eye and you say this isn't you. Do not preserve relationships. You don't need them. You only need one thing, and that's the Get Worse podcast.

Listen to Get Worse with Kyle Pruh on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So according to the advanced metrics, and I know it's only four weeks, I understand it's only a month. And the Niners, three of their games haven't been the toughest. They did demolish the Rams, however. But according to advanced metrics, not only is Brock Purdy, the best quarterback in the NFL, he's the best quarterback ever. Yeah, I said that. Ever.

Marino, Elway, I mean, they tracked this stuff during YA Tiddle. He's better than him, too. And that guy played in sandals. He is the best quarterback ever. So we can say it's just Kyle Shanahan, but Kyle Shanahan had Matt Ryan and RG3 and Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garapolo and blah, blah, blah. This is by far in a way the best quarterback play he's ever had. And it's fascinating because how the hell did this guy end up is the last player

picked in the seventh round with all the scouting, with all the film, with all the eyes on college football. Well, how is number one is he didn't have great traits. He wasn't big. He didn't have a big arm. He was very, very reckless in college. I watched him a couple times. He looked like a small guy who threw too many picks and was too wild. And it's Iowa State's a little bit in the weeds. It's not Iowa. If we're going to pay attention to Iowa football, it's the hot guys, right? But he did lead the Big 12 in completion percentage, and he played in a lot of big games, and he won a lot of big games, but the first couple of years,

my take was Debo and Kiddle and Trent and McCaffrey and Wardle, Warner. These are Hall of Fame players. The Seahawks have a bunch of good players. Do they have six Hall of Famers? And those guys were closer to their prime then. But what you're seeing now with Brock Purdy is, I mean, yes, the supporting cast is good,

but he is really having a different season. And Kyle Shanahan, explained the difference between really good Brock Purdy and the greatest quarterback using advanced metrics ever. Brock understands everything so much better. He used to ask what his responsibility was and just go out and do it. He didn't need to know too much. But now after he's faced everything,

when you know exactly what the look is, you know why we're doing it, and you're not just taking someone's word for it, I think you're just more confident. You can get off things faster. You know when you have the right thing, you can anticipate a little bit better. And the more your experiences go, the stronger that gets.

And I think that's where Brock's at now. A huge component to quarterback play in the NFL last two seconds. The ball is snapped, see it, evaluate it, and execute it. That's quarterback play. And at last, 1001, 1002, boom, let go with the ball. You want to get it out before two. and a half seconds. See it, evaluate it, execute it. That's what Mahomes does. Mahomes can see a play, anticipate a play, and the ball's out of his hands in under two seconds. Pertie may not have

his overall talent, but that's what he does. And it's just funny, you look at advanced stats. They are, he's not only number one in the league. It's not really that close. Now, they're going to Seattle. That's a different environment. That's a very, very, very. very fast, dynamic, and aggressive defense. And he didn't have a great first half against Denver, but again, the Broncos have a very, very good pass rush. But right now, if you look at the Niners offense this season, it is outside of Atlanta. I mean, it's number one in yards per play and third down and passer rating.

They are absolutely humming. And again, I always said on Purdy, there's something there, but I mean, McCaffrey Hall of Famer, Kittle Hall of Famer, Trent Williams Hall of Famer, Shanahan will probably eventually get there. Fred Warner is going to be a Hall of Famer. If Bosa could stay healthy, he's a Hall of Famer. Well-run organization. But he is now, he's the truck.

He's not the trailer. He is pulling this puppy. And it's impressive. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, we're going to start with the injury report in the NFL. It is lengthy and it is led by Lamar Jackson.

Not great news. It sounds like he's a no-go this week against the Falcons. And this is doubly painful because it's Sunday night football. Ravens at Falcons. You see, Falcons are favored by two and a half. That's a sign that Lamar ain't playing. The Falcons should not be favored over the Ravens. Here's the troubling thing.

Lamar has now missed 15 games over the last five seasons. And I know we joke about Glass Joe Burrow and certain guys can and cannot stay healthy. Jaden Daniels is now in that category. I don't know. Lamar's 29 years old. His best days are probably behind him. I think there's still some prime that he could squeak out of this season, but this is not good. Yeah, I mean, I think he's got plenty of good games.

He's dinged up. He's a great athlete. I think he's fine. But there is something to be said about the hyper-athletic quarterbacks. You know, those first three to four years look different. That doesn't mean the results or the outcomes are different. He could get a really good, you know, he could get kind of a quality draw in the playoffs. I don't think the division, I mean, Cincinnati still feels like they're a level away.

Pittsburgh has got real limitations, I think, with a 41-year-old quarterback. I think Cleveland's got talent, but there's a ceiling there, so they could still make it into the playoffs and he'll come back. I don't know if we've seen the best yet. I think we've seen the best of his fastball athletically. That doesn't mean we've seen the best of him. Remember, Dak Prescott, I don't know exactly what year it was, but, Jack Prescott, by year like five, six, and seven without the great O line, kind of graduated to a different class.

He wasn't quite as athletic. He'd had a couple surgeries. Then he gets like older, Dak. And it's like, I think older Dak, it's like older Nolan Ryan. Like, I don't know. I think he's better the longer he'd go. Dak, to me, feels better. He doesn't have the great old line.

He didn't have Zeke. I think Dak's better now than he was like four years ago. And he was very good four years ago. So the reality is, a lot of guys, you know, you think, well, they're not quite as athletic. I mean, Kirk Cousins has never been less athletic. He looks better today than he did four years ago. Well, that's an interesting comp, Dak, because they said, forget the running.

Okay, you got, remember he had that gruesome leg injury and he missed a lot of time. They said, we're going to make you a pocket quarterback. We're going to give you CD Lamb a top four receiver and then pick-ins a top-10 receiver. So we don't need you running around. So can you do that with Lamar? Can you give him guys? I just want to add. Colin, I haven't seen this mentioned. Lamar wanted a contract last offseason.

He didn't get it. And now he's hurt. I think Lamar has always been better in the pocket from about year two, year three. I don't think he was great his first year and a half. I think Lamar, mid year three until today, has always been better in the pocket. I think when he came out, he obviously was. so sensational running. I've always said this with running quarterbacks when you're young. Run.

Right? You haven't had the surgeries yet. Run. Drake May. Run. Bo Nix should run more. I wish Jalen Hertz would run more. I love that Drake May is running. That's what you should do for three years. Then the game, year three slows down. Then you develop. Like Jared Goff doesn't have that advantage.

So if you do, use it. Yeah. I guess the problem with Lamar, Colin, is his superpower is running. It's impossible to defend him in space. he's undressing these cornerback safety. You can't, like, you've got to spy him. He'll still be a top five scrambling quarterback.

He may not be as scintillating. But if you take, I mean, if a guy throws 101 miles an hour and now he's down to 98 and a half but has better placement, that's still an ace. Let's say he's not as twitchy. He'll still be a top three running quarterback. It's not like he's throwing 77 miles an hour over the plate. He's still athletic.

He's not quite as electric, but he was in such a different class than even the second most scintillating quarterback that he'll be fine. I think we've seen the best of that kind of prototype, but I still think his pocket play is better than people give it credit for. He can still have great games and probably some great seasons. Let me go ask you about this contract because he drove a hard bargain last time. Remember he wanted the fully guaranteed Deshaun deal they didn't give it to him. I don't know.

Let's say he misses four games. They win 10. They lose in the first round of the playoffs. Are you making him like a number one or number two paid quarterback in the league? Because he's going to still want that. Ask yourself. How long is he unemployed in the NFL? 30 seconds?

I mean, somebody's going to pay him. Bingo. So that's a pretty good indicator. Okay. Like when Kevin Stafansky lot got let go, five interviews. Okay. Now, Todd Munkin's done well. but the idea that Kevin Stefansky was a bad coach,

until John Harbaugh got fired in Baltimore, Stefansky was the number one choice. Lamar would be unemployed for 50 seconds. So he's obviously still very, very good. My only point is, first, he's better in the pocket than people say from about year three. And my second thing is, so what if he doesn't have his fastball?

He's still an elite athlete. It's not like he's going to become golf. He'll be fine. So he wants $60 million a year. Let's say that's the number. You doing that? because that's that's pretty much do you know what lamar's passer rating was this year he's a great passer 120 but the question is can you build around lamar making 55 or 60 mil which seems to be the growth

yes okay i'll take that over baker makefield making it i mean seriously i i still think he's elite i think but i think it's like michael vicks first three years in the league i've never seen anything like that and then he became better in the pocket but he could still run Michael was still active, but that kind of scintillating, what in the hell? I remember when LeBron broke into the league. And his first three to four years, his big specialty, because he wasn't a very gifted perimeter shooter, his great specialty was chasing people down, blocking the ball off the backboard. And then I don't know what year it was, but like, it was kind of a show-off thing.

And then maybe it was year five or six, that version of LeBron's like, I'm going to save some of this energy for the offensive end. I'm going to develop a shot, a three-point shot, so there are different versions from all-time great hyper-athletic stars. Yeah. All right, let's move on to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They had a rough loss on Thursday night football to the Browns. According to pro football focus, the Steelers miss 17 tackles. Mike McCarthy did his own analysis, and here's what he had to say about that loss.

You have to play your best football season every week to win in this league. You definitely play better than your opponent. So that's really part of why we're going about tomorrow the way we're going about it, because we need to clean their own house. Our house is not clean right now. And I get it. It's week five. So you're hard pressed to find a team or two that feels really good about where they are right now.

And that's the norm. You know, there's really an interesting aspect of football. And it's been happening for several years because the game, players are. bigger and stronger. The tackles are more violent. It's a bigger, stronger league. So the rules have come in to make the game safer. Yet there's more injuries than ever. That's why there's more holding calls and there's more penalties because nobody's playing in the preseason because coaches are worried about guys getting hurt in the preseason. So you don't play. So September is really rough. Offensive penalties, delay of game, getting plays. We also have this

convergence of billionaire owners. There are new coordinators and coaches. There are new coordinators and coaches. everywhere. Guys get one year now and you're out. Even successful franchises like the Eagles will blow guys out after a year, blow a coach out after winning a Super Bowl. So you have the league's never been a bigger business. Owners are more impulsive. There's more change. And yet nobody's playing in the preseason because fear of injury. So you have all these coordinators. Nobody starts until a few days after Labor Day. And so here we are moving into early October and teams are like, yeah, we can't tackle.

Our offense is full of penalty. So it's a really weird thing happening where it's very sloppy September football. And he's right. There's very few teams in the league you look at. It's certainly possible. I think when you put an offensive coach in with a very good quarterback offensively, things can be very tight. The bears look very tight.

I think Seattle's defense looks very tight. But it's a real challenge now in the NFL to keep your guys. healthy and yet be buttoned up in September when nobody's playing in the preseason. Yeah. This is an interesting matchup against the Colts. I have circled this. No actionable wager yet. Oh, yeah.

Steelers coming off Thursday night. I lost. Bad loss to the Browns. Colts played overseas. Yeah. No buy coming back. That's right. To me, that's the Steelers, but I think this was two or two and a half and it's come

down. Yes. I was not impressed by the Colts at all against Washington. They were playing a third string. quarterback who is a rookie. I think Steelers bounce back here. You? Yep. I think it's a very interesting. I'm a Colts fan, but this is an interesting spot. They play overseas. They come back. You get less prep. Pittsburgh has an embarrassing standalone game. Now they have extra prep with a smart quarterback and an offensive coach.

There's an obvious play here from the maven. The same page. Same page. Final story, let's go to your Chicago Bears. Fun rivalry game coming up Sunday. Packers, Bears, very exciting. You see that on the screen. Bears, two and a half point road favorites with a back-up quarterback, Colin. That's a little crazy. We know Ben Johnson's crazy when it comes to this rivalry.

What about LaFleur? Here's what he had to say, not taking the bait to bash his rivals. Because this game is about players, and so we'll keep it about the players. You know, I'm not the one out there. They're playing. Don't get me wrong. I love the rivalry. It's awesome.

It's great. It's intense. You can feel it on game day. You can feel it throughout the course of the week. And also the significance. I mean, they're the defending North champions. Yes, they are. If I told you there was a game this weekend that ended 34 to 9, it'd be this one.

Wow. I'm assuming you're taking the Bears. Yeah, it's weird. Ben Johnson, remember after they won that playoff game, he was chanting like, F, the Pac- Packers in the locker. Like, he's into this. LaFleur's like,

it's about the players. And then he realizes, oh, man, they're going to kill me for that in the media. LaFleur, man, I don't know what this guy. Again,

that performance against the Bucks, just lifeless. I saw no juice, no energy. Facing a backup quarterback. They lose their star linebacker Cooper. I don't know about 34-9, but I do think there's a world

where they put it on him here. LaFleur has struggled against Ben Johnson. I'm pretty sure they lost the last two last year and both of them they led both games and then choked them away Caleb coming up with some theatrics late. Are you going to be going making the trip to Wisconsin for this one?

No, I have some responsibilities this weekend but I'll be watching. You got to rake some leaves? Yes, you know me. Mr. Old leave raker. Yard work guy. Yeah. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The herd lie news. Well, Socrates had a famous line. Know thyself. And LeBron James apparently did a lot of summer reading because a story came out this week that LeBron James reportedly is dealing with chronic arthritis in his left foot, it's painful, and sciatica in his back. And this is exactly why there was only one choice the Philadelphia 76ers. Why go to Cleveland? Like the Lakers, the two guards on the team don't play defense.

LeBron knew about this arthritis and this sciatica. So he chose a hyper-young athletic team to fit his 41-year-old reality. It's like a pocket quarterback choosing a great offensive line and free agency. So between arthritis and sciatica, he's not going to play 82 games. It's going to be first time in his career. Major load management. And the second thing is he can't defend at an elite level for any extended period of time. So what did he choose?

I always said, go to Philadelphia. This is the fit. He chose Tyrese Maxie, who led the NBA in minutes, okay? Not Luca, not Austin Reeves, led the NBA in minutes. He picks VJ Edgecombe, a very good defender, super athletic kid from Baylor, had a great rookie year. he picks Jalen Brown, who is a guy that will play on both ends. And Joe L. M. B's not a very good defensive center like at all, but he'll defend the rim. And LeBron has no interest in those collisions.

So LeBron, I said, don't, the Lakers are not the greatest fit. Luca and Austin Reeves don't defend it. They don't give you 82 games. Cleveland's a lousy fit. Don't worry about going home. You know, you can always retire in that house you'll never sell on Akron. Hardin's not going to defend. Donovan Mitchell at this point is not going to defend. Philadelphia, in every other sport, at every other level, high school, college, AU, pro, it doesn't matter.

We celebrate joining the team with the highest aspirational and potential. That is Philadelphia. Syatica James, arthritis, LeBron. There was only one choice. And once again, LeBron made the right choice and the smart. choice. If this is just coming out, LeBron knew this when he was making his choice. V.J. Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxie Big Minutes, Jalen Brown, excellent effort guy plays a ton of games, and then B. Stinks as a defender, but he'll take the contact at the rim. And LeBron's got

no interest in that when we're calling him sciatica James and we're in October. So here was Nick Nurse, our friend Nick Nurse on LeBron's conclusion. conditioning so far in camp. Now that we're kind of here, you know, kind of lasering that down into what it's going to look like, like here in three to four weeks. Like, you know, well, what is the first back-to-back look like? You know, all those, and that's kind of always where it seems to start. You know, you kind of make a plan, adjust to the way the wind blows a little bit and go from

there. But, yeah, those are, those are important, you know, obviously an important topic. and like you all and like our fans and like all of us. You know, we want those two guys ready to go come April. I think by far and away the most interesting team in the NBA. I'm not saying the best team. May not be the Knicks, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, but interesting. So you get the upside of LeBron's EQ IQ on court leadership for a team with one ball and a lot of scores.

You're going to need that. But he picks the team that will, you know, cover his back. His sciatica laden back. Listen, it happens. I mean, you grind in a show like this. I mean, I am one bad segment from laryngitis sticking forever. Thank God I got a talkative guy on our updates. Don't forget.

Don't forget, Herd hierarchy, Nick Wright, top of the next hour of The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Music you love. I heart radio. Your favorite radio stations. Everywhere you go. The podcasts, everyone's talking about. All in one place.

And it's free. I heart radio. Whatever you want to hear. Listen anytime. Anywhere. Music, radio. Podcasts. Unlimited audio.

It's on the free IHart Radio app. Let's go! One app. No subscription. Always free. Grab the free app. I heart radio. Everywhere you go.

Always free. Download the free. IHard Radio app today. I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the hosts of Out of Character. It's a podcast. I know.

There's a lot of them to listen to these days. How are you going to get to us? Well, there's a specific reason why you should listen to us. We are the best podcast in the entire world. I swear. I know, bold. But why don't we list some of the things we might talk about on a regular episode? So sometimes we'll talk about, I don't know, the Uber driver we just had.

And how nice they were, or if we tip them or not, come and find out. Sometimes we'll talk about that weird. news story from last week. It's the one you're thinking about, trust me. Or maybe we'll talk about music and what's happening in the underground or drama and music or TV shows or the Met Gala and what the actors wore. What we're saying is we're not afraid to talk about everything under the sun. And if you want to see what that's like, come join us. It's a place where everyone can hang out, anyone. Wherever you're from, whatever you're like, you're welcome. Listen to out of character from Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeart radio app, Apple Pods, or

wherever you get your podcasts. You broke me. You do not deserve happiness. I'm Andrea Gunning. On this season of betrayal, we meet Carl Bryant. Carl thought he was living a normal drama-free life until the messages started. You will have hell to pay. For nine months, someone infiltrated every aspect of Carl's life, threatening to ruin him.

Cyberstalking, swatting, extortion, impersonation. And then the text threats escalated. Someone's not going to make it out of this alive. It's playing out in real life, not just on the phone. Every piece of evidence pointed to one man. But every piece of evidence was a lie. He was not going to stop unless we stopped him. Listen to Betrayal Season 6 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get.

your podcasts. I'm former U.S. Women's National Soccer team player, Carly Lloyd. I'm Fox Sports Reporter Jenny Taft. And on our new podcast, whatever it takes, we're talking motherhood, marriages, careers, and figuring out how to balance it all. And we'll discuss the game that brought us together because nothing is off limits. Do you remember your initial reaction when Fox called you to be a part of the World Cup? I was like, no, I don't want to do it. You said no? I played with players that didn't, I don't think that they really truly love. the game, I found the love with the ball at my foot. But in my head, it was the long game.

It was like, I don't care what I'm being asked to do at Fox. I'm going to go get some reps, and I'm going to learn it and love it and embrace it. He said, this group of people will never be in the same room as part of the same team ever again in your life. And it is your job to make sure that you enjoy the moment. You're proud of what you accomplish together. Listen to whatever it takes with Carly Lloyd and Jenny Taft on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You're not incurable. You're not broken. You're having a normal human experience, and we have a solution for that. And that solution is our show Free Therapy. I'm Ben. And I'm Kevin.

And we think everyone could use a little bit of therapy, including us. Absolutely. That's why each week we sit down with a different therapist to talk about the things we're all dealing with. If you're trying to get rid of anxiety, you're actually fueling more anxiety. We talked to some of the leading therapists in the country about all of life's headaches, work, family dynamics, and of course, dating in relationships. Everyone chooses a different set of problems, challenges, flaws. You have to figure out which set of problems you're willing to work with. So listen to Free Therapy with Ben and Kevin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. because therapy is expensive, but our podcast is free. According to the National Institute of Health, there was a five-year study of older Americans. It found that individuals with higher curiosity scores had a significantly higher survival rate than those with lower scores. Get Grandpa on TikTok. Okay?

Like, that's how you live longer. curious people age better. And I was thinking about this with Andy Reed is 68 years old. And he's essentially reinventing his offense. And years ago when he was in Philadelphia, and I was at the other place. This is like 15 years ago on the air, 15, 18 years ago. And Andy Reid and I have talked about this is that I said in Philadelphia, I'm like, there's this guy in Philadelphia, Andy Reed, in a tough physical city, Philadelphia,

he's made third and three a passing down. So he just started going. He started passing when everybody else was running. And now he's running and everybody else is passing. And, I mean, it's really remarkable what they're doing. He has gone old school. Kansas City this season is number three in rushing, number one overall rusher, number one in rushing average. And you can say, oh, it's Kenneth Walker.

I like Kenneth Walker. But you didn't think he was McCaffrey or Bijjon Robinson. That's not what you thought he was. So if you want to stay young, you got to keep learning. And I've also said this. I think offense in all of football, I think offense is innovation and creativity. That's why offensive coaches like a Sean Payton or an Andy Reid age better than defensive older coaches, because defense is about thwarting innovation, stopping innovation,

a little more violence, blowing stuff up. That's why as Belichick aged, even Belichick has felt sometimes a little Jurassic, a little outdated. Hey, let's make that defensive coordinator our offensive play caller. What? And I say one of the many benefits to hiring an offensive coach is that they age better. And you can say, well, what about Bow Nix? That's not a Sean Payton issue. that's a Bo Nix problem.

But we are seeing this right now. And my herd hierarchy, top of the hour, nine of the ten teams have an offensive coach. And it's just the fact that Andy Reid at 68 is still challenging himself, super curious. The great play designer is like, no, we're going to go old school, be a running team, lead the league in rushing, you know, per game.

And I think even more than Bejan Robinson and Atlanta, I think this is of the many reasons I like, like offensive coaches. Greg Olson talked about some of this yesterday on the show. You can certainly be a very successful coaching this league as a defensive-minded guy. There's countless examples, some of the most successful guys. What we're finding, though, when things go sideways, quarterback injury, youth, a little carousel, the ability of these guys, they can manipulate the game and make such an impact outside of the halftime speech, outside of the weekly schedule, outside of the team meeting,

on game day, they can impact and manipulate the game with their play calling, with their game plans. But there's no absolute. Let's not do absolutism. Right now, Matt LaFleure in Green Bay feels very finesse. He feels like he's lost the room. Yes, they've got injuries. It's the NFL. Everybody does.

The other one is Nick Sariani. But when Nick Seriani got the job, I set it on the show. I made two calls to executives in the league, two GMs, and they said, he's not ready to be a head coach. But they had a stacked roster, they had some franchise momentum, and Nick Seriani, you know, we crown him. But think about the discussions that the GM, Howie Roseman, and the owner, Jeffrey Lurie, have to have right now in Philadelphia,

one of those being, we paid Jalen Hertz, $255 million, and he just threw for 93 hours. Or the fact that we lead the NFL in three, re-in-outs again. In the second half against the Rams, they had six drives. In only one of them, did they get a first down? I mean, it is bad in Philadelphia right now. In fact, only the Miami Dolphins have fewer first downs.

Tennessee has more. So it is, and inside the NFL, Nick Seriani's not a guy. I'm going to go back to this in any industry. When you're unemployed, how long are you unemployed? Stafansky, five interviews within like a week. Siriani is viewed as the funny thing about Siriani, he can't be a coordinator. He's not a play designer. He's not really a great play caller.

Remember when he got to Philadelphia? And he had Shane Steichen, it was only when he relinquish play calling that they flourish. So it's a really odd situation where he's really not built to be a play designer and a play caller. That's not what he does. So his coaching ability is like, okay, he'll be the locker room guy. He'll be the culture guy. He'll be the walk-around guy. But, I mean, the last couple of weeks, we've got to be totally honest here.

If you're a Philadelphia fan, they have been worked by Ben Johnson and worked by Sean McVey. When you watch Sean McVeigh go to the sidelines, huddle everybody up, and then what transpires is big drive touchdown, big drive touchdown. It falls on Siri. Right now, the Eagles in the second half. Remember, offensive coaches are the great, you know, tweak people at half. They are last in virtually everything in the second half. So, Siriani, here's what he's saying. Just because you say your identity is one thing at this particular time,

that may stay the same all the way through. But that could change too, right? That could change too. There's a lot of things that go into that. When you haven't been consistent enough in both coaching and playing, then you are searching for the things that you're supposed to do well. And so I think that identity is kind of a buzzword that we like to use. but again, it's not consistent enough right now.

For the record, we always say this. Vegas is Truth Serum. They're almost a touchdown underdog to Jacksonville. Ben Johnson, Sean McVeigh, here comes Liam Cohen. And Trevor Lawrence has been on a heater for his last 12 regular season games. So truth serum is Vegas. Vegas is like, this is one of the biggest spreads of the weekend. Eagles.

This roster, this GM, this quarterback, Eagles, almost a seven point underdog. And this is not in Jacksonville, neutral field. Isn't this the London game? Is this the London game? Yeah. So, I mean, this isn't even in Jacksonville. It's like neutral field. So Philadelphia, I have another loss as you're all waking up.

It's, yeah, that's not good. Six and a half point dog in a neutral field. Hmm. Heard hierarchy coming up at the top of the next hour. It's interesting. There are certain teams in the league, like I'm not quite sure what to do with. I like, I don't love. I'm not sure what to do with.

I do feel like Seattle and San Francisco to me have separated from the league. I think San Francisco is separated offensively, and I think Seattle's depth, roster, and defense speed is kind of separated defensively. I don't know what the numbers say. I think Minnesota has also got a very, very good defense and anemic offense. But I do feel like in the first three to four weeks of the season, you can convince bad teams that they're pretty good. I always think you get to like week five and week six. And like the Jets players and the Titans players, players start peeling off. the guys that can be kind of disruptive in a locker room start forming small groups.

So the favorites have done very well the last couple of years in the NFL. We'll eventually have a great underdog weekend. But I do think you get to a point in week five, six, and seven where it's hard for Robert Sala. It's hard for an Aaron Glenn to pound on the table. and this is what we are. I think Harbaugh's got a little bit of that issue in Los Angeles. The players know what they are at this point. You know, Philadelphia knows.

Our offense stinks. That's who we are. Let's take that show to London. I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the hosts of Out of Character. The funniest podcast in the entire world. I like that.

It's a good way to promote ourselves. We are two funny guys having fun enjoying ourselves. And we just know how to have fun, unlike anyone else. If you guys like fun conversations, hot takes, what else? Not too hot, just kind of lukewarm. Lukewarm takes. Just to get your mind thinking a little bit. Listen out of character on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hi, this is Kylie Braym. Angel Geratana. Jeremy Colhane. Patrick McDonald. And we're the hosts of the Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists Podcast. The Improvised Character Comedy Podcast where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Join us for a panel of Eurovision participant. And we do a little Halloween sometimes.

Does the Pope dress up? He winks on Halloween. He gets right up next to the microphone. I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hit each other. You never seen Italy so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween. Listen to Artists on Artists on Artists every Thursday on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast. crime comedy podcast all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it.

Each week I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scammed them. What? I can talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

You broke me. You do not deserve happiness. I'm Andrea Gunning. On this season of betrayal, Carl thought he was living a normal drama-free life until the messages started. Someone's not going to make it out of this alive. Every piece of evidence pointed to the wrong guy. He was not going to stop unless we stopped him. Listen to Betrayal Season 6 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Is there an epidemic against literature? More specifically, black literature. I'm Jack Quist Peace Thomas, and on this season of the Black Litts podcast, we're outside asking why. They don't want a whole bunch of little elevators, Malcolm Axis and Martin Luther King running around. And when you look at a lot of different cultures, they're like, we need to know where you came from. And considering this is Black Reading Month, the only real question is, what are you reading next? Listen to BlackLit from the Black Effect Podcast Network on our IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.