The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - The Tush Push is on life support, issues between Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson

Episode Date: September 18, 2025

As the Eagles controversial “Tush Push” play sparks renewed backlash after a win over the Chiefs, Colin dives into why growing criticism and poor optics could lead to the NFL banning it There seems to be a disconnect between Bears head coach Ben Johnson and rookie QB Caleb WilliamsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com. or stream us live every day 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 Thursday. Man, we got a good show. I'm in Chicago where the weather is perfect.

It's beautiful. It's 70 degrees. J. Mack, how's the weather in Los Angeles this morning? We got some rain this morning. First time, it's six months. L.A. is panicking. Colin. That is funny.

So I was thinking about this this morning. I was thinking about the tush push. And so Adam Schepardt read a story yesterday. Like, people are going to get rid of the tush push. And I was thinking about this. Stuff changes all the time in sports because of the way it looks. And because this takes a while, it's ugly, it's hard to officiate. You unpile people.

it's not great television. I mean, the NBA got rid of the hack of shack. Hackashack was brilliant strategy by Mike Dunleby. They didn't like the way it looked. Shack, clank and free throws. Baseball got rid of the defensive shift. It was great strategy. But they wanted more runners on the bases,

more of their stars on the bases. It was great strategy, both the hack of shack and the defensive shift. And I don't like it. The push is great strategy. I mean, the NFL got rid of the or changed the catch rule. They thought players were making these dramatic catches.

Fantasy football fans were like, yeah, it doesn't count. And it was like, that's a buzzkill. So they changed the catch rule. So if you're bobbling it, you've got control of it. It's like I say with my iPhone. If I'm clutching it, I clearly have my iPhone. But even when I let it just sit on my hand that it can move a little, I still have control of my iPhone.

It's still in my possession. and that's what the NFL did with a catch. You still possess it, even if the ball moves a little within your grasp. And it was the right move. But I do think there's a legitimate, three reasons, maybe four, to legitimately keep the tush push. Number one, it is a football play. I watch football games, and that's a play during the games. It's not rugby.

It is a play during a football game. It's a football play. Second, if it was just about the offensive line, the lions would do it. The Lions have a great offensive line. So do the Broncos. You ever see Bo Nicks two weeks ago try his version of the Tush Plush? It was a disaster. And by the way, Jared Goff can't do it.

It's only about Jalen Hertz. His all-pro center left, they're better at it this year. They do it more this year. It's about Jalen Hertz. His number one asset, he's the strongest quarterback, probably in league history, pound for pound. We don't tell Lamar Jackson to run less. We don't tell Mahomes not to throw sidearm or left-handed. why take away the number one asset for one of the star quarterbacks in the league?

And so there are reasons to keep it. But I think this is what's happening and this is the problem. They're using it too much. The defensive shift had Joe Madden used it once a series against the dead pull hitter, you could have it. He started using it all the time. The NBA doesn't mind the three-point shot. But when the Knicks and the Celtics meet and shoot 97 in a playoff game, it's bad television.

And Adam Silver says, we may have to change it. Remember, the IRS changes tax laws and tax codes all the time when they think something's being manipulated or used to hurt other people. And I think that's the problem. This year, think about this. Jalen Hertz has attempted the push more than balls thrown down the field 10 plus yards. and 60% of league revenues come from television. They're overusing it.

I contend if you had one kickoff a game, they wouldn't have changed the rules. But when you have eight or nine, concussions, numbers go up. Again, even speeding on the freeway, you can go six to seven miles an hour over the speed limit. It's not called anything other than the speed limit. And yet law enforcement allows you to go seven miles an hour over it. 10, 15, 20, trouble.

So this thing would be allowed, the defensive shift, if hack a shack had happened once. But when it becomes protocol, the NFL's like, okay, you're doing it now more than you throw the ball down the field. And I think that is going to end it. I mean, the last time it went up for a vote, it passed. So there's a strong belief that they created it. They won a Super Bowl with it.

They're great at it, and they're the only team doing it. I mean, Josh Allen tried it. Most talented quarterback in the league. He can't do it. Bo Nix tried it two weeks ago with a great O line. He can't do it. Jared Goff can't do it with the great O line. Herbert can't do it.

One guy can do it. Why punish him? Because he's doing it too often. That's it. Adam Silver doesn't mind the three. He doesn't want the Nixon Celtic shooting 97 of them. Here's Nick Siriani on his best play that may be taken away. I think it's an exciting play.

I mean, obviously there's been a lot of discussion about it. And I think, you know, when you bring more discussion about a play, it brings more attention to football. I always think there's a beauty too. And like, everyone knows what you're going to run. And you can still get the, I mean, isn't that football? Yes, to a large degree it is. But there's a lot of things in life. You know, golf is a lot of fun.

But if I was doing it six days a week and wasn't doing my fair share at the house, Anne would probably say, want to scale back on golf? What are I do it in the summer twice a week? I don't come home exhausted or drunk. Can I hit golf balls for a couple hours? I'm back. So golf is fun. There's a limit to everything. All right.

This is, we have ourselves an issue in Chicago. Cowboys Bears this weekend on Fox must watch. Bears are worse than we thought. Dallas better than we thought. So Ben Johnson said this yesterday. I'm going to read it slowly about the Bears practice habits. I'm going to read this. We talk about it all the time.

We should be going at football very hard, finishing hard. Our offensive players, their fundamentals, our finish, our technique. They need to show up on the practice field. That's how it shows up on game day. things like how do we properly block? How do we catch a ball? How do we block after the catch? Ball security, things like that. That's stuff you should know in Youth League. Okay, now think about this. He's not criticizing defense that just gave up 50 plus points. He's not criticizing special teams. He's criticizing the offense. Who's the leader of the offense? Caleb Williams. So he's also

criticizing the lack of fundamentals. He said, quote, here, little things that you learn. in Youth League, you know, like blocking and tackling and finishing plays hard. And I mention this because that's Caleb's number one problem. It's not horsepower, arm strength mobility. It's footwork, it's mechanics, it's pre-snap, it's the basics. And I want to take you, I don't think this is a small thing. There have been two times Ben Johnson has said things about the backup Tyson Bayesian. Here's the first. Listen closely.

I've really been blown away by his approach from the spring to the start of camp to where we are now. He does a tremendous job knowing what to do, how to do it, and getting it done. Basically he's saying he's really good with the fundamentals, which is what he's criticizing with the current offense only with this quarterback. So when he said, oh, I really like Tyson Bayesian, it wasn't horsepower, it was fundamentals, the exact thing he's criticizing now. But here's another one. This is even more damning from Ben Johnson. He and I are probably wired, very similar, just the leaders of room, he's usually all business.

We try to loosen him up. Because he, I mean, he's so serious about his job, he wants to do so well, and he wants the team to do well, that he's always locked in. So I can appreciate that about him because I can relate. I got to be honest. I mean, if you said that to your wife, I really, I work with Cindy. We have a lot in common. We really relate.

Like I totally get what she's saying. She's so sharp. Yeah, don't let your husband go to a cold play concert, okay? Like, you got a problem coming. You may want to get a hold of a divorce attorney. You don't have to be a marriage counselor for 35 years to figure this out. He talks about how much he loved fundamentals with Tyson Bajit. Now he's criticizing the lack of fundamentals.

You know, we have a lot in common. Our brains work the same way. Yeah, maybe that business trip, try to talk your husband out of it. Something here is not good. I mean, to say all this stuff publicly about the backup, he's sharp. Great with fundamentals. Man, we think the same way. That's what I've complained about Caleb and Ben Johnson.

Not the lack of talent, the lack of symmetry, the lack of chemistry, the lack stylistically, aesthetically, optically. They're just different. One guy is all about stacking and system and timing and rhythm. And the other guy is just this artist who paste the fingernails, ad libs. huge arm, momentum plays, little hero ball. They're just different cats, just different dudes. So I don't think those bites, I mean, when I read that this morning, complaining about fundamentals, my first thought is,

that's what you loved about the backup a month ago. He kept going on about, oh, he's so sharp, the pre-snap stuff, the fundamentals. Because just like Kyle Shanahan, Ben Johnson at his core, designs a play and wants you to follow it. And he knows it's a complicated play. And it's got to be fundamentally strong. Get the pre-snap down. Let's get the operations down.

You can hear a ball it twice, three times a game. But run my play. I don't know. I'm trying to be positive here. I mean, at least our weather is good. But the stuff is jumping out to me. Greg CoSell, 50 minutes from now. Can't wait for today.

J-MAC Urban Meyer stops by as well you and I talk a lot we talk about bets we like a lot I have the Blazing 5 you have tomorrow's headlines today have you put it in the Blazine 5 Colin

I've got I always have 7 on Thursday 6 tomorrow morning before the show I drop one because you open with the Eagles and the tush push we saw the way the refs were talking to the chargers remember they flagged the chargers Monday night for a tush push attempt and it was like, wait, well, what's going? That's never flagged.

McVeigh's talking about it. Hey, maybe I need to go to the league office. Colin, if all of a sudden the tush push is removed and the referees are going to referee it differently, I think this hurts the Eagles. Honestly, I don't, be careful backing them this weekend against, we're going to see at least one flag for sure against the Eagles for the push. They're going to do something. Yeah, I mean, it's, there is a way to manipulate officiating.

Not all officiating crews are the same. Phil Jackson used to talk about that in the NBA. Some guys allow stuff. Herm Edwards, Bill Belichick, Brady's talked about that before. Some officiating crews call more holding than others. Some officiating crews let defensive backs handsy with wide receivers down the field. So I think what will happen is I think all eyes, you're seeing all these discussions. All eyes will be on the offensive line, leaving early.

so Philadelphia will have to be on their best behavior. Tush push or not, I think the Rams actually match up with Philadelphia. Philadelphia is not throwing the ball down the field at all. Secondly, the Rams, Pooka Naku and Devante Adams, one of those is going to be open against the Eagle secondary because right now they're struggling at one of their corner spots. So it's a good matchup. It's in Philly.

That matters. There's a reason they're favorites, but I do like the Rams plus the three and a half. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard radio app. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every third. So do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new?

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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,

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Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. You're now entering the no bull zone sponsor by credible great rates. none of the bull. So sometimes I just like to play soundbites from Aaron Rogers because he uses words. No other guy I ever know would use in a public setting. And so Aaron is talking about that the game this week is they go to New England. I actually think Pittsburgh's the interesting side here. They could have, I mean, they just basically forgot how to play football,

forgot basic rules at home against Seattle. Then they had a ball that should have been a touchdown. A receiver made a mistake. It got tipped in intercepted. intercept it in the end zone. Seattle, I thought, was the better team going in. I had talked about that, but I did think Pittsburgh

could have served itself much better than the second half. So now New England comes up, and here's Aaron talking about next game up. I don't like getting too binary, but winning. That's a good response. But we can't get attached to the

binary system that our league is judged on, necessarily. because it is a 17-game season, and the process has to be great. So just dig into the details in the process, enjoy it, practice well, and then let game day take care of itself. Yeah, I don't know about the whole binary system,

but winning cures everything in the NFL, and sometimes you get lucky, and the next four weeks, here's who the Steelers are playing. A franchise with six Super Bowls, so I hold you to a higher level. They're playing Drake, May, Carson, Wins, Joe Flacco, and Jake Browning.

So if they don't go four and oh, we got problems, regardless of what binary system you're dealing with. Joe Burrow, Pittsburgh's gotten very lucky. Joe Burrow gets hurt, and he won't play the two times Pittsburgh's going to face him. If you look at the schedule, they face Miami Week 15. Miami could be in full tank mode. It's after the trade deadline.

They may sell off players for picks, and they may have an interim coach. Then they play the Ravens in Week 18, and I think it's realistic to think the Ravens are going to win this now without Joe Burrow going away and we'll be resting starters. So you get two Jake Brownings, a Miami team that I would bet at the trade deadline, is moving off players and a Ravens team resting starters in the final regular season week. So not all 10 and 7s are equal, because the problem for the Steelers in the last decade has not been that they don't win. It's that they don't beat good teams and great quarterbacks. So all I care about with the Steelers this year is five.

games in the regular season. Week 8, Green Bay and Jordan Love. Week 10, Justin Herbert and the Chargers. Week 13, Josh Allen at home bills. Week 14, at Lamar Jackson, and then week 16, Jared Gough, and the Lions personnel. That's the season. I don't care about the Falcons or beating Jake Browning. Well, Colin, that's not fair. You've got six trophies. I judge Georgia football different than Purdue. Okay, you got six trophies. So there's a lot of breaks teams get, and playing Jake Browning over Joe Burrell twice,

getting a tanking Miami after the trade deadline, Ravens in the final week, resting starters are breaks. And if you think I'm being hard, remember last year, the Steelers were 10 and 3 at one point. Woo! I was getting a lot of heat from Steeler Nation. Then they lost five straight. Looky here. Who were the quarterback?

Lamar Jackson twice, Mahalms, Hertz, and Joe Burrell. Oh, they lost all those games. Yeah. Suddenly, apparently, the internet went out in Pittsburgh. Never got any feedback after that. Certainly no pushback. So I'm going to judge Pittsburgh, whatever binary system it is. I'm judging them on wins over good teams.

And in the next month, you get young Drake May, a rebuilding Patriot team. yes, they still are. Joel Flacco, Carson Wentz, and Jake Browning. You got to go for no. Jay McLaughlin News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News.

All right, Cowherd, we're starting with the Kansas City Chiefs, one of the biggest disappointments through two weeks in the league. Mahomes, it's a three-game losing streak, and he's for the first time in his career. He's 0-2. The offense has been dreadful. I'm going to talk about the defense at a moment. but Mahomes, he's taking singular blame.

It's all on him. For myself, just being better at executing some of those earlier moments in the game especially, I mean, there was guys open, obviously no earlier early, but even more than that, if I kind of sit in that pocket a little bit longer, trust those guys, get the ball to the guys down the field. I feel like we can make some more explosive plays.

That's not what my eyes tell me. My eyes tell me guys aren't getting open. My eyes tell me that Mahomes is actually playing really well, but he's got no run game, doesn't trust his O-line, and doesn't have a number one or two receiver. And by the way, the Travis Kelsey drop that became a pick was the ball game. I mean, that was the ball. And you're watching that game like I was.

I was thinking, and you were watching it thinking, is Kansas City going to steal this thing? And then the minute Philadelphia picked it off and went off to the race is you're like, okay, game's over. Well, there was still like nine minutes left. But yes, that was a massive swing in the game. Colin, I need to ask you about this. So, you know, we look at the trenches or everything.

Everything, right? Offensive line, defensive line. Pressure rate. Can you pressure the quarterback? Right. The Chiefs are number one in the NFL and blitz percentage, but it's not correlating with pressure because they're only 26th in pressure rate. They can't get to the quarterback with four or with the blitz.

Okay, so here's my, and what don't they have? An edge rusher. No, they don't have a run game. Oh. So the defense, they are doing, their series, their defense is on the field too much. And I've said this before. One of the components to having a great defense, Baltimore always has one. They always run the ball well.

So when your defense is only on its 43rd defensive snap, late third quarter, because it's harder to play defense. You're pursuing, you're chasing, you don't know the play. So it's, I mean, we've had people on the show. It's harder to play defense. You are constantly pursuing, right? And by the way, if you're not running hard to the very end of a play, it'll show up on the film role. Monday and Tuesday in front of your entire team, and the coach will call you out. Offensive players and offensive lineman running back flies through.

You just watch the play. Half the team watches the play. So my point is, look at the defenses in this league. The really good defenses are almost always aligned with a run game. Kansas City cannot run the ball. And the defense is gassed in the fourth. The Chargers got the first downs they needed. The Eagles ice the game.

Look at the Eagles. And look at Justin Herbert in the second half against Kansas City. Lights out. Gated up. The defense is on the field, too many snaps. So let me ask, let's spin this to the Giants game on Monday. Is there a world where this is closer than the experts think? Everybody thinks, oh, Chiefs are fine.

Like, if you're not going to pressure Russell Wilson, Malik Neighbors is good. I know McDuffie got torched by Devante Smith. He's more of a slot guy than on the outside. I'm telling you, neighbors will torch him. Well, yeah. There's a world where this is an interesting game, man. Yeah. I mean, they were in two interesting games with the Raiders last year.

the chiefs no longer blow out teams. All their games are interesting. Yeah. So, I mean, it's not, and I think Russell showed, I mean, he's, he made a bad throw in the, I think it was overtime when he lost the deck and the Cowboys. But I think when people say, will the game be interesting? Every single game for the Chiefs last year, even against bad teams, was interesting. They just happened to go 11 and 0 in those interesting games. Right.

One final note, Mahomes, I didn't even realize this. he's at 58% completion through two games. 58% for Patrick Mahomes. By the way, the Chiefs running backs are averaging 16 rushing yards per game this season. 16. If they're not getting right against the Giants,

I think it's okay, because they got the Ravens after that. It's officially pressed to bed at a lot of time. I think it's a 2420 game. I think it's very close. I'd probably take Kansas City because of Reed and Mahomes, but I think it'll absolutely be clear. They're not going to run the ball at all,

against the Giants. Yeah, that front is nasty. All right, let's move on to the San Francisco 49ers, who kind of got some interesting news yesterday at practice when Kyle Shanahan, remember, Brock Purdy was supposed to be out two to four weeks. Kyle Shanahan came out and said there's a chance he could play. What? Against the Cardinals this week now.

Some people, of course, hold on, Colin. Some people are saying, he saw Mack Jones light it up and he doesn't want to get while he picked. And I'm like, all right, settle down. I personally don't think he'll play, but go ahead, go ahead. No, I like San Francisco in this spot. This is one of the games I like. Arizona's all beat up on the back end.

No, I think general rule in pro sports is athletes come back in about half the time of the initial prognosis. They're young, good team doctors. And for the record, Mack Jones playing great. Don't kid yourself. It matters. Guys want to get back on the field. You don't think when somebody fills in here and crushes it, I'm like, hey, honey, we've got to get back from vacation. it early. Come on. I know you don't do that.

No. Hey, by the way, I know the Cardinals, they're secondary. You got to check that injury report. But for the 49ers on Wednesday, I'm just going to read it. Nick Bosa was resting, did not practice. Joanne Jennings did not practice. Kyle Eusechek did not practice. Christian McCaffrey, there's a theme here. Resting player did not practice. I know some of these guys are veterans. Okay. But this is early in the season for that, isn't it? No, but I mean, this is a trend I've seen for about five years. When get veteran coaches and veteran reliable players, this is a theme. Rams do this constantly. I don't check every team. This is Kyle giving the guys who play well, but he needs and respect. Yeah. Did not practice. That doesn't mean anything. Ravens do that sometimes too.

All right. I think this is a trend in the NFL is that, especially when you play a division rival, you know their personnel, you know the quarterback. I mean, when you start playing division rivals, I mean, the games, you got a lot of tape. You got six games. You got six games. tape in the last three years. It's not like you're facing as an NFC team. You're facing Lamar Jackson for the first time. It's like, yeah, I need my guys to practice. Yeah.

And Kyler Murray did have his way with the Niners last year. He had his two solid, definitely one solid game. Yeah. Against him in an upset. Final story, Colin, Green Bay Packers, number one in the herd hierarchy. The Packers are big favorites over the Browns. We cautioned you guys against this yesterday. Kevin Stefanski knows that Matt LaFleur's offense is nothing to be

strifled with. It's a tremendous offensive attack that Coach Lafour has gone. Like we talked about the quarterback making great decisions, but they really do, to your point, actually have the ability to throw it to all their guys, whether it's the receivers of tight ends or the running back. And it comes in a variety of scheme. It can be hard play action shots down the field. They can spread you out very quickly with some of the things they do. They're an excellent motion team. So it's a great, great challenge. Yeah, when you watch the Packers this year, trust your eyes. They are the fastest offense in the league. Everybody can run. The quarterback, the running back, the tight ends. Kraft is going to be a six or seven time

pro bowler. He is a stud and all their receivers can run. They have draft, as well as the Rams have drafted on defense, the Packers have arguably done better on offense. They're not missing on anybody. Again, we, I made a case for the Browns here yesterday, not to win outright, but for this to be closer. I think this number comes a lot. down from eight and a half, probably closes around a touchdown. Colin, let's just, let's be real here. We like the Packers. Their opener was against the Lions.

They smashed them. That was an obvious, we love that. Then they had Washington on a short week coming to Green Bay. I know two playoff teams, but very favorable spots for the Packers. This one with Dallas next week, I think there's some caution here for Jordan Love against Miles Garrett and Company. Well, my next story is going to touch on this. J. Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. Thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. So I love that JMAQ brought this up. You're going to love this, Jason. Favorites in the NFL this year of at least four points are 12 and 0 on the season. Why? Okay, this is something I've talked about for three years on the show.

It's the disappearing middle class in the NFL. It's the disappearing middle class. So in any business, when one thing primarily becomes the thing you have to have or do to succeed, that business becomes haves and have-nots. And like in tech, if you don't embrace AI in five years, you're dead. Now, everybody's going to, obviously. But what the NFL has become to me over the last three years, it's not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't love it. it has become David Stern's NBA.

David Stern, because he took over a dying NBA, leaned into stars and market size. You could have two and three and four superstars on one team. And if the big markets could afford them, so be it. Adam Silver doesn't like that. Adam Silver took over the NBA from David Stern, where it was top-heavy. And Adam Silver said, I want to make it more even.

Well, under Adam Silver, seven years, seven champs. We can argue which is better, but what the NFL has become is David Stern's NBA. Because the only way to win in this league consistently, you have to have a great quarterback because of

safety rules post-CTE story and CTE-900 million dollar check written, NFL protects quarterbacks as much as they can. And they've changed the legislation, the rules of the sport, to favor the quarterbacks. So,

me, the haves in the NFL right now, you have to have at least a B-plus quarterback. The haves are Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City, Chargers, Sinty when Joe Burrell is healthy, Texans, and Denver, those are the halves in the AFC. In the NFC, it's Green Bay, Philly, Washington, San Francisco, Rams, yes, Brock Purdy, Detroit, Tampa, and Dallas. 15 teams. Now, we can argue about Sam Darnold. Certainly could argue about it.

These are the absolute halves. In fact, if you go to the last four seasons in the NFL and look at the last 16 teams that have made a conference championship, it's only nine different organizations, but it's 16 teams. 15 of 16, 15 of 16, had a Pro Bowl quarterback, a quarterback that at some point made a Pro Bowl. The exception is Jimmy Garapolo, who under Kyle Shanahan was damn close to a Pro Bowl quarterback. He isn't now. He wasn't before, but he was pretty darn good.

He led Mahomes in the fourth quarter. Completes one deep ball, beats Mahomes probably. So the reality is what you're seeing in the NFL is, and this is what's really changed for me betting the NFL. Last year and a half, blazing five is hard. Couldn't figure it out last year. I'm like, I was always a guy that took underdogs, especially if they had a viable quarterback. Favorites now cover. One of my favorite bets next week.

I like the Ravens over the Lions. They're a home favorite. They're a better team. Jared Gough's not the same outside at night as he is in a dome. And usually I'd be like, oh, I got Jared Gough, I got value. It's like, no, I'll probably just take the favorite. I mean, tonight it's not a game I would bet because it's a 12 plus spread. I stay away from those games.

I would take Buffalo. I would just take the big favorite. And I think there's a real gap in the league. It's very much David Stern's NBA. And I love David Stern's NBA. Adam Silver, some argue, it's like the 70s NBA. We have no dynasties, but it's more even. When you could win running the football, when you could win with defense and be a

playoff team with running the football and defense, it wasn't as, you know, it wasn't as exciting, but it was more even. And by the way, you can criticize Jimmy Garoppolo, but under as a nineer quarterback, his passer rating was 99. It's B plus, just didn't make a Pro Bowl. 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, name?

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 podcast. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call. about what we should call it. 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 for 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 Podcast. 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 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. SportsLice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life

12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian went.

I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Greg Kosell, top of next hour. My favorite 15 minutes of the week. So I saw a headline this morning. It got me worked up. as I was taking the train in a city with perfect weather this morning. J. Mack was driving, trudging through the rainstorm, the tsunami in Los Angeles. So here's the headline I read,

Caleb Williams was not the problem in the Bears blowout loss. And this writer cites a bunch of stats. So you're going to notice this. Great quarterbacks don't get blown out a lot. and there's free, I'm not sure if it's still used, but I'm not going to mention the people who say this, but there's a couple broadcasters who say this a lot, and it's just nonsense. And they think they're smart when they say it. Winning is not a quarterback stat.

Yeah, it is. It's funny, Mahomes, Montana, and Brady always end up in the Super Bowl. What a coincidence. By the way, if winning isn't a quarterback stat, then why are these quarterbacks, have the most wins. Brady, Manning, Breeze, Farr, Rogers, Elway, Big Ben.

Where's Jay Cutler? I don't see. Jay Cutler's not on that. That's interesting. They're all great. It's funny how it works. Like, nobody would deny. Isn't that interesting?

The most career quarterback wins. All Hall of Famers. Nobody would deny being taller and better looking is an advantage in life. It just opens doors. people want to be around you. Like nobody would deny that.

There's studies they've looked at and they say, yeah, it probably does help. But yet, nobody ever thinks about that goofy quarterback is not a winning stat. Or, you know, that's not what wins. If you have a great quarterback, three things are true that aren't necessarily with mediocre to bad quarterbacks. Number one, better coaches and coordinators are willing to move. their families across town for better quarterbacks. Jim Harbaugh seemed

kind of selective, didn't he? He was very interested in the Chargers because of their Super Bowl winning history? No, because of Justin Herbert. Jesse Minner's like, yeah. Go look at the staff for Harbaugh. Very easy.

I mean, they didn't go to L.A. because it's inexpensive and you get a bigger home. Or there's Super Bowl history. No, you get Herbert. So the better the quarterback, the easier it is to assemble a great staff. Second thing, it makes the draft easier. You don't have to, for the next 15 years, ever draft in the first round, a quarterback again. You just find left tackles, edge rushers, weapons, centers, people to support him.

Because quarterback is a 50-50 miss proposition in the first round. You never have to worry about anything other than get the best player available. not guess whether this quarterback will have the soul, the toughness, the cognitive ability. So it helps you in the draft. It makes drafting easier. And the third thing is, stars already in the league want to play with great quarterbacks. It's funny. The Chargers called Keenan Allen.

You want to come back? They couldn't get it out of the mouth. Yeah, I'll come back. I'll leave Chicago and I'll go to Los Angeles. It's funny. Mike Williams came back. Kenan Allen comes back, Jim Harbaugh, it's because of Justin Herbert. So this idea that quarterback's not a winning staff, if you get the quarterback right,

it makes everything easier. Everything. I mean, Denver was a mess even after the first year Sean Payton was there. They get Bo Nicks, and you're watching them like, they should be 2 and O, and all we're doing is complaining. They have not played well. They should be 2-0. If not for a nebulous, iffy call on the field goal, they'd be 2-0. And you'd be like, oh, okay.

I mean, you start complaining about stuff when you have the right quarterback that really is a privilege. You're complaining about your play calling in a win. You're complaining about, you know, man, yeah, we had too many penalties. We won, but, I mean, we had too many penalties. That was Denver against Tennessee. So the reason that Caleb Williams is getting blown out, too many three and outs, too many five or six in outs, there's no rhythm, you lose field position. When you have a quarterback that can't sustain drives, your defense is on the field longer and it plays worse.

Go look at time of possession for bad quarterbacks and time of possession for many good quarterbacks. Right? And I'm not saying coaches don't matter and environments don't matter. Matt Stafford wins a lot more with Sean McVay than he did in Detroit. I'm not saying coaches don't matter. But the idea that winning is not a quarterback stat, well then why are all the greatest winning quarterbacks, the winningest quarterbacks ever are all Hall of Famers?

It's just like being better looking or taller. It's an advantage. It just opens doors. It makes everything easier. You get more opportunities. You almost always win with a great quarterback, a field position, and that's what Bill Parcells used to talk about the hidden yards in football, that you just get so many hidden yards,

if you can pick up third downs and move the chains and win time of possession. And over the course of a game in your 13 possessions, if you are consistently week-to-week getting better field position, you have easier field goals to make, you can use more of your offensive packages. Like so, I mean, six of our last presidents, six of our last seven presidents have been like tall. Like, go look at CEOs.

Oh, tall CEOs. It matters. Quarterback winning. they go together. Always have, always will. They do all the things that you can't necessarily figure out and they feel like, I'm not sure. Better coaches apply for jobs with better quarterbacks.

By the way, a lot of people were interested in the Cowboys job with Dak. Jerry chose Brian Schottenheimer, somebody he knew. But the Cowboys with Dak, I mean, Vrable would have been interested. Sean Payton at one time would have been interested. if the Cowboys had an opening next year, regardless of who Jerry Jones would hire, they would have people based on Dax play.

They would be like, oh, yeah, I can score 24 points a game with Dack. I can make, I can win playoff games with Dack. I was thinking about this with the Buffalo Bills. So sometimes, well, almost all the time, the reason LeBron kept getting to the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, a big part of it was LeBron was good, but in equal,

measure, the Eastern Conference was awful. The minute LeBron goes over to the West, there are no guarantees. You're getting to the conference finals. The teams are better. Saban dominated a largely dysfunctional SEC. The minute Texas came in with Sark and Kirby Smart hit on Georgia, wins didn't. Winds didn't happen very easy.

Right? Like, he was in it when Tennessee and Georgia couldn't get their life together. Ole Miss didn't have Lane Kiffin for most of his stay at Alabama. Texas wasn't in it. Oklahoma. It's a different conference. Just remember this on the Buffalo Bills. Who's circling the drain right now in week three?

Miami. Jets again. By the way, who's circling the drain in the NFC, AFC North? Joe Burrough, Cincinnati. By the way, Green Bay's division, Minnesota, not sure what to do at quarterback, Chicago, a mess, Detroit regressed. If you're asking me, my three favorites for the Super Bowl this year, Buffalo, Baltimore, and Green Bay.

Why? Because they're going to eat get buys or have more home games. Go look at Tom Brady's career. He always struggled in Denver. However, Tom got so many home games largely because Buffalo and the Jets were almost always dysfunctional and Miami was sometimes interesting but never great. So it's interesting watching Miami become the team that's really circling the drain. That is a big advantage. That's two wins, including tonight for Buffalo.

The Jets look like a bit of a circus. Justin Fields is hurt. and New England's interesting, but a mile away from being good. So the Joe Burrow interesting, the Joe Burrow injury, and the Miami disaster, they're benefiting two of the three best quarterbacks in their conference, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. So that's, and for the record, what have I said about Kansas City? Kansas City would be fine today if they were in the AFC or NFC South.

Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Pete Carroll, part of their success. I looked it up this morning. From 2017 to 2023, Denver, the Raiders and Chargers, all had losing records. That was part of it. Home games, buys, playing at Arrowhead, weather advantages. So I look at the Packers, the Bills, the Ravens, all places that get cold in January and February playoff time, all with great quarterbacks in their prime, and all right now in their division,

dysfunction has erupted in the NFC North, the AFC North, and with Miami in the AFC East. Packers, Bill, Ravens. It matters. How good are your rivals? Or how dysfunctional are them? Hey, guys, it's us.

The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast?

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

We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, 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, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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

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

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

This is an I-Hart podcast. Guaranteed human.