The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Yankees need clutch hitting, Dodgers bullpen is a mess, Eagles offensive struggles

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

Colin breaks down the New York Yankees’ Game 1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card and why poor clutch hitting — not bullpen decisions — sealed their fate The Dodgers showed what will most likely end their season last night Thoughts on the Browns benching Joe Flacco for rookie Dillon Gabriel and what this means for Shedeur Sanders He also dives into the Philadelphia Eagles’ concerning offensive issues, explaining why their 4-0 record may be masking serious problems under the surface  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis' keep coming to you.

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It is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Thank you for making us part of your day. A lot of platforms out there and a lot of choices as well. The great thing, J-Mack, and you used to live out there, So did I. When the Yankees and the Red Sox meet, especially in the postseason, it is second-guess the manager time. And I'll say this about the Yankees as an organization. They've been very patient. Cashman's been there forever. Aaron Boone in year 8. And everybody wants changes. But the Yankees outside of one year, a couple years ago, have been really perennially good. We're waiting for great. This team's not going to be great because there are certain elements that they're just not very good at, like they're bulls.

pen and that was on display last night. So here we go. Let's talk Yankees, Red Sox game one. It's second-guessed the manager time and Aaron Boone is a pinata to the pinstriper fans. So he didn't start Jazz Chisholm or Ben Rice.

Oh, well, it's a lefty-righty thing, but that's going to get second guest if you lose. And he also pulled the pitcher. Max Fried was pretty good last night. And in the seventh inning, and everybody's going to freak out, you know, You know, Ahmed Rosario starts over Chisholm. Why? Because he hits the Red Sox Ace better, Garrett Crochet. That's why he started him. So they pull at about 100 pitches, they pull Max Reed.

Everybody's kind of freaking out. But let's be honest. He was at his pitch limit. He labored in previous innings. He didn't have great command. And Aaron Boone knows more about that than you or I do. So they go to Luke Weaver. Well, Luke Weaver has been up and down all year out of the bullpen. That's the reality. The Red Sox have played great baseball at Yankee Stadium this year. They've won six of eight. They won the season series. So Luke Weaver faltered.

And this whole night came down to a couple high-leverage situations. One of them was Luke Weaver. He didn't get the job done. And that's the reality. The other was just historically weird. No teams ever loaded the bases, bottom of the ninth, and not scored a run, at least one. But Arealdas Chapman?

Yeah, he throws 100 miles an hour, strikes out John Carlos Stanton, your $325 million hitter in a high leverage spot. The Red Sox were better in a clutch spot in the 7th, and they got a historically rare success with Chapman in the 9th. And that's the game. And every baseball fan, especially in New York, thinks they're a combination of Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, Connie Mack and Casey Stengel. Baseball playoffs, especially in the series, come down to moments. And one of those moments is in the seventh inning. And you can say, well, Max Reed was really rolling.

He had a 24 pitch inning. He had a 20 pitch inning. And again, the Red Sox are a really good team. So my take is Aaron Boone travels with a team. He knows his team. And his take was he didn't have great command. A lot of pitches in these innings. I want to get out of here.

But this whole game came down. down to a seventh bullpen miss, and a bottom of the ninth, Chapman overpowered Yankee hitters. And that's playoff baseball. Here's Aaron Boone on his decision to pull Max Fried. I felt like his command was, you know, not as good. Those final few, he's just making so many big pitches and his stuff was good. So, look, I mean, he gave us, you know, what we needed and felt really good about the outing.

He put forth, but I felt pretty convicted. like, you know, especially we got the double play. It's like, let's go get one more hitter and be good. And the other thing is so much of Major League Baseball managing these days is upstairs. A lot of it's just numbers. Freed was at a pitch count. I don't like that number. I mean, if you pitch 100 pitches now, like that's as much as you're going to pitch.

And so now, now the Dodgers are in a situation. We'll talk about them in a second. Their bullpen so bad, they're going to blow through that. But the Yankees bullpen is not that bad. It's not Dodger bad. Okay? So the other thing is a lot of times it's like when football coaches on fourth and one or fourth and two go for it. If you make it, you have courage.

I like him. This guy's tough. He's genius. And if it fails, the guy's an idiot. How do you go for it on fourth and two? So I don't like to do a lot of post-game baseball is 162 games long. You got 25, two months in spring training. These managers tend to know their staffs better than I do.

Certainly, better than the average fan does or media member. So my take is it's like, okay, is it 100 pitches, 24 pitch inning previously. Hey, it doesn't have great command. I'm going to make the move. And Luke Weaver, been spotty, faltered. That's the game. All right, let's go Dodgers. So the Dodgers are favored over the Cincinnati Reds.

I mean, the Dodgers payrolls three times that. It'd be more if you weren't pushing Otani's salary down the road. The reality is the Dodgers are going to win this series. But last night's a prime example of why they're not going to win the World Series. They're not going to win the World Series. That an 8-0 lead and won 10 to 5. So here's how it all started first inning with Shohei Otani. The 2-1 pitch.

Otani turns on a ball. Hit deep to right field. It is gone. Shohei Otani. kicks off the postseason with a bang. So Tearsker Hernandez also had a couple of home runs. They got an 8-0-0 lead. And they made Blake Snell a very good pitcher.

He's had some shoulder issues through his career. They made him go to seven innings. And the reason is Dave Roberts doesn't trust the bullpen. Dodger fans don't trust the bullpen. The Dodger bullpen doesn't trust the bullpen. So they're going to push their starters as long as they can go. And their bullpen last night was. brutal three pitchers. That's what it took 59 pitches to get three outs against Cincinnati,

and that's after they'd scored three runs. So it's a bad bullpen. But last night, what the Dodgers need is really good starting pitching. Okay, and they need their big bats to deliver. Well, Mookie Betts had a couple hits. Freddie Freeman went two for four. O'Tonnie had a couple of bombs. Tay Oscar Hernandez had a couple of bombs, so it worked last night. But in the eighth inning, that bullpen to the Reds. 59 pitches. Three pitchers just to get three outs. So it was so Dodgers.

I said this yesterday. I think they blew 26 saves. If they would have just blown half that, you would add one of the great Dodgers seasons. If they'd have blown just half that. So they scored 10 runs. They had 15 hits. It feels good.

But this is how they're going to have to win. They're going to need Otani and Freeman and Max Muncie and Mookiee and Mookiee bets, they're going to have to hit. And again, baseball playoffs, it's the very best pitching. They're going to have to hit really high-end pitching in high-leverage situations because the bullpen's not going to work.

It didn't work during the regular season. It's not working against the best teams. So, you know, it, I mean, I thought that felt like a Dodger game. Your stars, your money players delivered, you got solid starting pitching, and the bullpen was awful.

And that's the Dodgers. So J. Mack also watched on the train home, Cubs and the Padres, and the Padres have a very specific way they have to play. And if they don't play that way, they can't win. So I think they're in trouble with the Cubs. But, you know, we were both back there. When the baseball Yankee Red Sox at the time, the Yankee most money, and the Red Sox spent the second most money, and they would bid.

The Hot Stove League was different. And then the Dodgers got, you know, new owners, and then the Dodgers now are, it's a bank. And they, you know, they push their salaries down the road. The Dodgers have the best team easily. And the complaint in New York is, well, we don't, because they do spend money, but it's like Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, you don't make big moves. But it's funny about New York because the Knicks just fired a coach after their best season in 10-plus years. The Giants and the Jets are constantly making changes. and the Yankees are kind of strangely for New York,

strangely patient, and which is right, the frenetic pace of the Jets, Giants, and Nicks, or the Yankees patience. Now, Yankee fans would say I'd rather be a little bit more like the other guys, but the Jets' giants are a circus. And the Knicks have mostly been a circus, and the Yankees win every year,

but they're incredibly patient, and my takeaway on the Yankees is, would you rather they be the other New York teams who are making big, swings and nets, Knicks, Mets, Jets, those teams are chaotic. Yeah. Well, the problem is we were spoiled with the Jeter years winning so many World Series. And now you say the Yankees are winning, but are they?

Like, I don't know, I would trade 95 wins and a second round loss for a World Series, wouldn't you? I mean, I get it. You know, we don't want to become the Portland Trailblazers where you're in the playoffs every year, but you're not winning a title. Yankees fans want to see a World Series, Colin, and they haven't in a while. And that disappointment, I'll tell you this, if they lose today, I think you'll see the Yankees spending in the offseason big time, right?

You can't lose both games. By the way, bounced by the Red Sox. Aaron Judge making a fortune. Garrett Cole making a fortune. John Carlin. There's no salary cap. Spend. Go buy everybody.

Well, I think it's spending smart. Why go spend that on John Carlos Stanton who had injuries and you already had a better version, Aaron Judge? So, I mean, my take is I think the Yankees are an uneven team. When I watch the Yankees play, like this year, strikeouts, bottom of the league in sacrifices. They scored, don't have a good bullpen.

Remember last year in the World Series and in the playoffs? They dominate the American League Central, but they had a bunch of home runs last year, but they were a bad fielding team. I mean, the last couple of years, say what you want about the Dodgers. They have a bad bullpen. But generally the Dodgers,

speed, can steal, hit for average, hit for power, good starting pitching. Now this year the bullpen's awful. But the Yankees have felt, with all the money they spend, are they spending it wisely? The bullpen's not very good. They're okay defensively, but like they led, the only teams that struck out more in baseball this year were the awful Rockies and the awful angels.

So it's like it's all or nothing with the Yankees, and when you face elite pitching, it's a lot of nothing. Yeah, it's a lot of Boston Celtics, three-point shooters galore in the playoffs. If you miss them, you're losing. You're bounced, and the Yankees want to go home run or nothing. No, they're a three-point. There are an NBA team that shoots threes, but doesn't defend very well. And by the way, when the Warriors were winning, they shot great threes. They were also an elite defensive team.

That's the Dodgers. You're not going to be perfect. The Warriors didn't have size. The Dodgers don't have a great bullpen. But when I watch the Yankees, they're incredibly patient. They deserve a ton of credit for that. But they're uneven. It's home runs or nothing.

It's hard to hit a lot of home runs against elite pitching, unless you're Otani. He hits them against everybody. So we got a lot of stuff today. We got a lot of stuff today. Joel Clatt breaks down the crazy weekend of college football. And this drama in Philadelphia with the Eagles is not going to end. 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, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 it. We're the first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how 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. 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

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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.

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And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, Founding Partner, a partner, I heart women's sports.

You know, we were talking about the Yankees being uneven. You know, from 96 to 2001, the over in five world series, they won four of them. They were a great team hitting with runners and scoring position. Third in baseball during that span. Now they're 12. They're obsessed with the home run. People forget this. When they were dominating, Jeter wasn't a big home run hitter.

Was Bernie Williams a big home run hitter? I mean, they had really good starting pitching. They hit with runners in scoring position. They took the extra base. They were very smart. They were really good on the margins. They weren't a big home run hitting team. I looked it up this morning, 13th in home runs from 96 to 2001 when they were dominating baseball.

Now, baseball has obviously changed. And, you know, home runs is what teams want. But you start looking around baseball right now. I mean, the Padres have a very good team. They're doing it with sacrifices and a great bullpen. There's a lot of different ways to win. But when they were winning championships, they hit for average when runners were in scoring position. Right now they don't.

So they're kind of obsessed with a home run. And listen, Aaron Judge is amazing. But I mean, remember earlier this year, Aaron Judge got banged up? Yankees were not a good baseball team. So just when I watch them, I see an uneven franchise. They're really good at one thing, but there's holes in it. So I don't think they spend the money that wisely. And you're looking around at the Brewers?

I mean, they hit home runs too. So do the Blue Jays, but they leave baseball in singles. and the Padres don't really hit for power at all outside of Machado and Tatis a little, but the truth is they have a great bullpen. So there's a lot of different ways to win, and it does the Yankees feel a bit lopsided. So yesterday we talked about this at length.

Last year in Philadelphia, there was a little A.J. Brown drama, but it was different. They scored like 50-some points in the NFC championship, and they scored 40 or something in the Super Bowl. and everybody was on the Sequin Barclay train. Like, oh, he's setting records. He was the new guy. Everybody loved it.

So A.J. Brown's like, okay, I'm not getting many balls thrown my way, whatever. Okay. Winning cures everything. Usually in the NFL, it's not going to cure everything here. Last nine games for A.J. Brown in Philadelphia, he's averaging three catches a game in 38 yards. He's arguably the second or third best receiver in the game. So this different, last year was different.

Everybody was sharing in the gym. joy of Sequin Barkley. Everybody was in on it. Everybody loved it. Everybody took a back seat. And also last year, the defense was great. Number one total scoring defense. This year it's 22nd.

This year they're not getting to the quarterback. So they need A.J. Brown. They really need A.J. Brown's yards have been cut in half because everybody's stack in the box. The words out on Jalen hurts. Stack the box. Make him throw. So, you know, it's just interesting.

Everybody says, oh, it's okay. They're winning. Winning. cures everything. There are exceptions to every rule. It's the last nine games, including the playoffs, they can't get the ball to A.J. Brown. Now, the Rams are small at corner. In my opinion, during the trade deadline, the Rams should make a move. They're tiny at corner. Maybe they got some six three guy in the scout team, but they're just too small. But last year was different. The defense was great. They were scoring a lot of points in big games. They were running the

football. Everybody was sharing in that joy. That's not what they are now. They need A.J. Brown, and they can't consistently get him the ball in their last nine games. And here's Brian Baldinger on his sort of mentality as a wide receiver. The thing about AJ is this. It's different than other wide receivers, and that his mentality is like an offensive tackle. He wants to absolutely obliterate the opponent in front of him. He wants to take every corner the way Lane Johnson takes every corner. Every defensive end, or George Milata, takes every defensive end and wants to drill them into the dirt and have meat grass.

That's what AJ wants to do. But if he doesn't ever get that chance, then that's what frustrates him. You've got to see the problems ahead of when they'll eventually face the roadblock. The Eagles are 4-0. They have a worse point differential than Minnesota that just got housed in Dublin, and they can't figure out their quarterback position. They have a worse point differential than the Jaguars. So this thing eventually, you've got to be able to see things before they're real problems

because you have a trade deadline opportunity here. And that's like the Rams need a corner unless they got somebody on the scout team that I'm not fully aware of. And the Eagles have a, I mean, the only thing that blows up a great dominant roster is drama. What's the most dramatic position in the NFL in our lives? Wide receiver. So, again, I think A.J. Brown last year was like, hey, it's Sequin's year. We're winning. Okay, now he's got a trophy. Now Sequan's yards are cut in half. Now the defense isn't great and they need him and they still can't get him the ball. You could talk yourself into being a good teammate last year. Hey, it's Sequin's year. Sequin's not having the same year. Words out, box is stacked. Here's J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News.

All right, Colin, we got a phenomenal Thursday night football matchup, on paper at least, and that's Niners Rams, okay? It's going to be at SoFi. The problem is we have no idea who's playing for the San Francisco 49ers. The injury report is brutal. Brock Purdy, we don't know if he's going to go. He talked about his status for Week 5. Thursday night game and everything, it's just, it's tougher.

I don't have as many days to get right and heal up and feel better. So it's where we're at. If I can play this game, I'm going to play. And obviously, you know, I want to get right and get healthy and everything. So, but we need to win this game against the Rams. So that's how I'm looking at it. So let's just remove criticism from Purdy. The focus here, Colin, the 49ers.

What's going on? Is this gamesmanship from Kyle Shanahan? Because this morning in Vegas, that line's on the run. The Rams are now seven-point favorites. According to Vegas here recently. I said this yesterday. At five and a half, I said this would be my favorite. blazing five pick if I could pick it.

But let me ask. You hear Purdy in that, I don't know if this is games in the ship where he really may not play. Also banged up, Joanne Jennings, Ricky Pierce, all the, they're not practicing. Who are we going to battle with here? Mack Jones, who's digged up, Christian McCaffrey going to get 30 touches.

Something feels off. I don't know if Kyle Shanahan's playing a game with his buddy McVeyer. Here's what happened. This is a big rivalry. There's a lot of ego involved and it's awesome. The Niners used to own this series. And they owned it because they had a better overall roster. But then the Rams started drafting really, really, really, really well, and the Rams pivoted

to Matt Stafford. And since that time, it feels like it's the Rams. Rams are younger. They're cheaper. They have more flexibility. They've hit on more draft picks. They have the better defense. And so this series has swung from, remember what happened?

It was back and forth, back and forth. Niners started controlling it with Jimmy Garoppel. and then McVeigh got really tired. Remember that game against the Niners? He got frustrated on the sidelines. McVey showed, I pinpointed this game a couple years ago with Jared Gough, where you could tell McVeigh was done with it. And he didn't feel Gough could take him into another level.

So they went and got Stafford, and they started hitting on defensive draft picks. Like all of them, right now, there is no question. Now, for the next three years, this is going to be a Rams series. And I think tomorrow night, you'll get a great look at. Listen, I'm going to make a case for the Niners here,

but I don't know that you can. Remember, Niners, Colin, zero quarterback hits, zero sacks on Trevor Lawrence. If you're not, if you're giving Matt Stafford time in the pocket, he's going to kill you. And if you have to manufacture pressure with blitzes, Devante and Puka, this kind of smells like a blowout.

Now, I will say, the 49ers are still three and one if memory serves. So they're not, there's a, you never want to say a coach with punt a game, but there's a word. world where, hey, man, let's rest our guys. We're not going to force them back on a short week. Division rivalry. So the truth is it'll be a low scoring intense first half. I think the Rams will eventually pull away. But if I'm the Niners, all I care about is I got to keep Kittle, Trent Williams, and McCaffrey upright. Because I'm not sure at this point with banged-up Purdy that Mack Jones isn't as good. I think if Brock was healthy, he's better. But so to me,

we're not going to be a great defensive team. We don't have the personnel outside of Fred Warner. Bosa's gone for the year. So the Niners don't have great defensive personnel. Warner is a first bout hall fan. After him, it's a lot of young guys you cross your fingers on and a great defensive coordinator Robert Salah. The Niners have to win by scoring.

So if you told me, Trent Kittle plays 16, 15 games, and McCaffrey's healthy, they can win a bunch of games. Yeah. But right now, I'm not sure dinged up Brock Purdy is better Matt. I know he is healthy, but I don't think, I don't think he is right now. He makes, he's trying to push himself. You watch that Jags game. He made bad throws. A lot. Here's some pretty stats for this season. Again, limited sample size. Let's pump the brakes. He's still a great quarterback. He's not top 10 this year. Not top 10 this year, but he'll get there.

That limited of a sample. All right. All right. Let's move on to another big injury, Colin. That's a Baltimore Ravens. This is not good, man. Lamar Jackson, the report from the Baltimore's son is he could miss the next two to three weeks. Now, we talked about it yesterday. Texans this week, unbelievable turn of events. The Ravens on the look ahead were nine and a half. The Texans are now minus one and a half. Colin, this is enormous.

Sounds like Lamar Jackson will not go. But they have Texans Rams by. Let's rest Lamar. Maybe he can make us make a move in the second half. But Colin, I talked about this a little bit. Shedur-Sanders had the chance to be drafted by Baltimore. Would he be starting? Remember, Baltimore wanted Chador.

Would Chador Sanders be starting over Cooper Rush this week if he had said, Baltimore, yeah, I'll come in. He took the route and maybe it was his dad, Dion, I don't want to go to Baltimore, I'll never play. Lamar's down for three weeks. Baltimore wanted Chadour. Colin, Cooper Rush, we've seen him. I think Chadour made a really bad decision. My belief has always been, always been if you in any field are offered a position, and you're young.

I'm not talking you're 48 years old. You went to UVA law school. You've been a law partner in your office. I'm talking if you're in your 20s and you are offered a job by a company with a history of personnel excellence. Take it. Take less money.

Take less of a position. Get in the door. And I believe that for everything. Now, 30s, you've got kids, your career is moving. Then you can get picky. But if, um, If the Ravens of the Eagles, both interested call, pick up the phone and say, I'd like to go there. That's my take always, and I've said that before, don't chase money, don't chase titles,

chase great management when you're in your 20s, because there's a finite amount of great executive front offices in this league. The number's about 10, maybe. Yeah, this really has to get Shadur upset to watch Dylan Gabriel getting to start this week for the Browns. and Chador is like buried on the practice squad. Again, I know some people out there, Jay. Come on, Cooper Rush is a season veteran. Okay, he would start over Shadur. I don't necessarily agree with that.

Shedur is much more mobile. This offensive line has not been great. And oh, by the way, the Houston Texans, pass rush. Colin Will Anderson, a company, one of the best in the league. Man, I wish Shadour was on the Ravens. I think he'd be starting this week. Final story is your bears narrowly escaping Vegas with a big win on that late field goal block. Chicago's run game only had 2.7 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, the Raiders rushed for 240. Here's Ben Johnson talking about being upset with the offensive run game. When you look at it as a whole, it was just a mess, man. I'm just not proud of what we put on tape. I think it's a reflection of myself. I always take it personally. I saw us getting better the first three weeks in a lot of ways on offense.

and then this was just a little bit of a step back for us. Yeah. Bears on a buy, so you're tempering expectations. No, no, no, no. It's interesting. Now, so I had a conversation two days ago on, what is it, Wednesday. It was Monday with the Bears thing. And I said, oh, he goes, you got to be fired up.

And I'm like, well, it was a mess. That was what I said. It was a mess. I said, you had three interceptions from Gino Smith. Four. The Raiders are not a good team. No, maybe it was three. You know, it was four turnovers.

three picks, two to the safety. And I'm like, and you needed to block a field goal? Why, why shouldn't I be happy with a win? I said, you can be whatever you want. I said, but dude, if you get four turnovers, three picks, you've got a win going away. You should beat the chiefs or the bills if you get that. This is the Raiders who can't block. So it's like Ben Johnson watched what we all watched and is totally honest with it. If you're the Bears, you're all we want, and I get it. Bears don't win road games. But it was a, there are losses where you come out of it totally concerned. By week four, the offense cannot have false starts on fourth and one. You just cannot do that by week four. I said, first couple of weeks, I'll give you a pass. I mean, week one, the lions were a mess

with new coordinators. But you get to week four and five, no false starts on fourth and one. Can't have them. Sorry. Real quick, Colin, can we get the Bears schedule on the screen? Because we touched on this. So by week, usually you use to get healthy. Right? The secondary maybe get healthy. Okay, we think they'll face Jaden Daniels coming out of the by, but Washington has not looked great recently. Their defense got shredded by Michael Pennix. Then you get the Saints.

We'll give that a win. We don't know if Lamar will be back for week eight. We just don't. There's a chance they're facing Cooper Rush. Jason, I said this before the season. This was one of the hardest ranked schedules. Yep. And I said at the time with you, I said,

show me the three-game stretch of great, teams. This schedule is you got to buy. Next up, Jaden Daniels, we think plays, the Bad Saints, Lamar, who knows, the Joe Burlis Bengals, the Giants at home that can't score. Minnesota's

quarterback situation, not good. Pittsburgh at home, certainly winnable. And Philadelphia, which has had the two worst offensive halves in the league with their new offensive coordinator. This schedule was overvalued. It's a normal

NFL schedule. It's not a great schedule. It's a normal one. But if you go by win totals, right, Washington had a high one. They were in the conference championship. Baltimore, Super Bowl contender, Cincinnati Super Bowl, Vikings went to the playoffs. Like, before the season, this looked tough, but so many things are breaking their way. I mean, who's starting for the Browns in week 15? Maybe it's Sodor. Well, here's the other thing. Here's the other thing that I said. I said, Lions don't have a great defense Cowboys without Michael won't have it

Raiders don't Washington didn't Saints don't Bengals even with Burrow don't I mean the best defense they play is the Giants they get them at home and the Giants can't score so this I think we over like the Niners schedule was really easy but my take it's not that easy

because nobody can stay healthy so that schedule was everybody said oh it's and like hey guys you guys they're not playing with a full deck it's an old brittle roster And the bear's scheduled look daunting, but if you looked at it, it's like, well, they don't play a great defense until New York in week 10. So that means Ben and Caleb can get rolling here. So I, um, yeah, I mean, I think it's, I still think they're an eight-win team.

You steal one? You steal one in Vegas, right? And everything's changed now. By the way, I could be starting a receiver for the Niners in week 17. My agent's putting in a call today. You know, I've been working on the ladder drills. Like, I mean, I don't know what's going. San Francisco may have nobody left at that point.

J-MAC with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. I'm going to defend Aaron Rogers a little bit coming up next. Also, well, I'll defend Aaron Rogers. Because he is getting hammered. I don't mean like subtle jabs.

He's getting crushed by people who grade quarterbacks. And I'll talk about that next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us to 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... We're the first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how 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. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner 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 courtside 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. Saturday, the fight for the AL-Pedent begins with two game ones as the league's best square off in the American League Divisional Series. It all starts Saturday on Fox and FS1. I thought yesterday was an amazing day. I watched the Cubs Padres as I took the train home, and I feel like baseball has become a little like college basketball. The regular season lacks urgency, but for about three weeks, college basketball is unbelievable, and for about six weeks, the baseball playoffs are stellar.

Yesterday was a great, great American sports day. It had a March madness feel to it, and you say, Yeah, Colin, you don't like baseball. No, I like baseball for six weeks, and I love college basketball for about three to four weeks. You got to give me urgency when you do a syndicated radio or TV show. It's just a different ball game. But I thought yesterday was unbelievable. You had the Yankee Red Sox drama. The Dodgers bullpen imploded again.

I'll get to the Padres and the Cubs at the top of the hour. Joel Clad will be joining us as well. But yesterday was just great sports. And baseball, it's not everything, like, you know, not everything. is great all the time. And the phone is distracting. Football does a good job of making every Saturday or Sunday feel big. It's got like a World Cup or Olympic feel where it's like, oh, this matters a lot.

Not every sport can do that. That's why the regular ratings, regular season ratings for a hockey or a baseball or NBA can be a struggle. You don't have urgency. We've become an event nation. That's what we've become. We've become an event nation. Everybody's so distracted, so caffeinated.

There's so many platforms. You've got to make stuff feel big. Barbie Oppenheimer, it feels big, a Steven Spielberg movie. Then we all come rushing in. So I just thought yesterday was great. So Aaron Rogers, this is so, I'll explain it. But Aaron Rogers now, according to PFF, is the lowest graded quarterback in the NFL,

lower than J.J. McCarthy. Lower than Russell, Wilson, and Flacco, who have been benched, lower than Owen 4 Cam Ward and lower than Gino Smith who just threw an interception last segment he's lower than all of them he was 20 and 24 last weekend he's completing 69% of his throws

as a 103 passer rating not to be obnoxious to PFF but I'm going to go with no he's not the worst and he may win the division because currently in the AFC North the starters are Jake Browning Dylan Gabriel and Cooper Rush. He may win the division.

Here's where I'm going to defend Aaron Rogers. He's asked on this team, I said this two months ago, he's Chris Paul. He's not Steph Curry on this team. Aaron is Chris Paul. Occasionally go hit D.K. Metcalf or a back shoulder throw. I don't need you. I don't need Steph Curry. I don't need James Harden.

That's not what I need you to do. So he is the lowest rated quarterback. because in the PFF grading, he has the fewest air yards per attempt. He's not taking big swings down the field. He only has three total big time throws all season. That's what they call down the field into a tight window. But my take is he's new here.

They've got a good enough defense to win. If you look at the quarterbacks he's gone against, it's Carson Wentz with three offensive line injuries. My take is Aaron in Dublin started looking at that offensive line with the Vikings? He started looking at Kevin O'Connell's inability to adapt or change. He couldn't because of personnel. He looked at the pressure on Carson Wentz, and Aaron's a smart guy. He's watching in real time what's happening, and he's like, I don't need to take any risks.

I don't need to throw the ball down the field. So I think you have to be careful about PFF great. I've watched Gino Smith every snap this year. Aaron's been the better quarterback. And I also believe Aaron's a very smart guy, and he gets into in-game situations, and sometimes you let the game breathe. Sometimes the team needs energy. Sometimes they need a big throw down the field.

But in that game, from the very beginning, first drive, first eight minutes, you're like, oh, that Minnesota can't block them. Minnesota's having a problem here. Then the guy rolls over and he's hurt. Aaron read the room. So, and if you look at the schedule for the next couple of weeks, Cleveland and Cincinnati, they're going to win two more. games. Now it gets really tough after that. It's a lot of Packers and Colts and Chargers and Buffalo and Baltimore

and at Detroit. But I will defend Aaron here. I do think, and this happens all the time. You ever gone in for a big meeting, a sales meeting? And it kind of goes sideways fast and you're like, I got to read the room here. I just got to save the meeting. I'm not, we've all gone on to date. You go to a meeting. Aaron's in a big football game and you read the room during the game. I'm going to scale back. No big swings here. So when I watched that game with Aaron, the way they were running the football, I mean, they actually ran the football.

Like, they look like a 20-25 offense. I think Aaron looked at it and thought, guys, I'm just not, Aaron said, I'm not going to make any mistakes. We're going to win this football game. I don't need to throw the ball down the field. So I think, and that's nothing against PFF, but I've watched every snap of Gino this year. And I've seen Cam Ward, and I watched Joe Flacko and Russell Wilson,

Aaron knows what he has here. He's playing backup quarterbacks with a turnover creating defense and an offense that suddenly now is creating lanes offensively. Why throw the ball down the field and take big risks? I think he's smart. And this is, by the way, the third straight, nice thing I've said about Aaron on this show. I don't know what's happening. All right.

So this story has gone from compelling to a cautionary tale. Dylan Gabriel will now start for the Browns. They're benching Joe Flacco. But it's worse than that, is that if Dylan Gabriel fails, they'll go back to Flacco. Shadur is now third. Here's Kevin Stefansky. Excited for Dylan. He's done everything.

He's handled everything really well since he's been on campus here. So we're just going to have to support the young man. coaches, players, offense, defense, special teams. We need to coach better. We need to block better, catch better, run better, all the above. We need to be better. And I know the quarterback position gets quite a bit of scrutiny. I understand that, but this is about our entire team playing better.

They have two first-round picks. They need a franchise quarterback. It's all okay. It's going according to plan. I think they've actually played better than you would have expected. They beat Green Bay. I didn't think that wasn't on my bingo card. So I thought the Shadur Sanders story was fascinating.

He dropped like a rock in the draft, and then he went to like OTAs and chopped it up and was really good. And I checked because I thought to myself, do I care about this more than the audience? So in cable TV, I can go the next day and look at my ratings minute to minute to minute. And I looked at the Shadur Sanders topics for about a month, and the audience, you were as interested as I was. This story to me is now,

what's the moral of the story? Can we learn anything from this situation? And we can. If you're a great talent, you can get away with more. If you're marginal, you probably shouldn't call yourself legendary, bomb pre-draft interviews, get two speeding tickets, have your dad tell teams, don't draft him. Now, Shadur lacked some self-awareness, but young guys in their 20s, I mean, writer cup. You watch the crowd. this weekend, people in their 20s can lack self-awareness. But here's what I know about the NFL. They don't care if you're a popular influencer.

Thank God. They don't care. And they don't care what you did in college. Will Howard and Stetson Bennett won natties. Can't get on the field. Patrick Mahomes had a losing college record. I'm not going to just crush Shadour because he lacked some self-awareness. Most 23-year-olds do, especially if they grew up with wealth.

But right now, he's a marginally talented job. celebrity and the NFL just does not care. And I don't think the story's that interesting. I didn't even know if I was going to talk about it today when they brought it to me. But I do think there's a lesson in here, and that is know what you are or know what you're not. I've said this before. Sports is kind of unusually cruel to young people and the quarterback position. You know, most of us were goofballs at 23. I was. Most of us, you know, you make really guys' brains develop more slowly than girls. For the record, in college athletics, girls are often offered scholarships eight, ninth grade,

10th grade, why? Because they mature more fast, more quickly. You know what you're going to get with a young woman, emotionally and physically. Guys, they change. You could have a guy that is, I mean, go look at the story of Josh Allen and, I mean, could not get a junior college offer. boys explode. Like many of you, I grew seven inches junior to senior year in high school. Like just guys mature physically and emotionally different.

But in the NFL quarterback, it's cruel. We need you to have the maturity of a 38-year-old guy at 24. Not at wide receiver, not at Mike linebacker, not at corner, but at quarterback we do. Same in the NBA. Point guard. Chris Paul was not only gifted, Chris Paul was determined, obsessed, and mature at 24. years old. I remember talking to an NBA exec on this. He's like he's a, he's like a 35-year-old tenure veteran in the NBA breaks in ready to go. So it's very rare and it's unfair, but at

quarterback, you got to be a grown-up. That Johnny Mandel stuff is fine for a lot of positions and fine for a lot of industries, but you can't be a goofball at quarterback or surgeon or pilot. Like I need a grown-up. Can't wear a tie-dye shirt and be wake and bake in the morning and jump on my Delta flight. Not going to work. I'm going for surgery. You got to be prepared. You can't have a hangover. I'm sorry. And I think there is a moral to the story on this is at that position, everything counts. Everything. Every single thing counts. All right, Jay Mack. Joel Klatz coming up. Wild weekend of college football. And we've changed our position on some of these quarterbacks. Certainly. Let me ask you about a quarterback who was in

college last year. Dylan Gabriel, okay? So we know what Minnesota does. They love to pressure and blitz you. Well, it didn't work against Aaron Rogers. I was just looking up some Dylan Gabriel numbers against pressure in college. I don't know how much that translates to the league. Do you think Gabriel is going to have a good game here against a Viking? I'm kind of fascinated to watch Gabriel because they liked him a lot coming out in the draft. Well, I think it's another example of we talk ourselves into size doesn't matter for the position. Yes, it does. He's a very small quarterback. He has the second best roster in the field. It's an elite

defensive coordinator. I don't think it's going to be a great game for him. Nothing against them. I don't think it'll be great. All right, one down. More baseball to go. 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. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and 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.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got.

Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis coming to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva. And on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be?

I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered Conversations from Night Sweat. to futas, to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me, or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.