The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - Can the Angels keep Shohei Ohtani?

Episode Date: July 27, 2023

Concerns NFL teams should have going into the season The chances the Angels have on keeping Shohei Ohtani Colin gives some NFL predictions   Guest: Brock HuardSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. Hour two on a Thursday. Good to be back live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thank you for making us part of your day. We always appreciate it. A lot of choices out there.

One of my favorite guys, formerly at the Pacific Northwest, Brock Heward stops by. doing some NFL and college stuff for us, noses stuff. J. Mack, the summer, we're kind of smack dab in the middle of it, about five, six more weeks of great summer. You're shaking your head, you don't believe it. I feel like July 4th is the middle of summer, right? Everything just slopes down there after that. Yeah, I went with friends up to Vancouver, B.C., and it rained hard on us for two days. Now, it's still gorgeous.

So what do you do for two days when it's raining? I got in the morning it wasn't as bad, and I kayaked for an hour and a half and did the bands and swam and just did whatever I could. And you parked the boat and move around. But, you know, it is what it is. Day drinking. By the way, what are you drinking? Wine coolers, beer, hard liquor?

Wine coolers? I don't know. How to wine cooler? I know you have a daughter in the wine cooler age. Yeah, I'm, no, I just, you know, a glass of wine is nice. It just depends. I had an espresso martini one morning at 11. You can do that when you're on vacation.

So one of the big contracts that was signed when I was gone was Justin Herbert. Just a great kid reached out to him. He's so humble. And again, I think between the Jalen Hertz and the Justin Herberts and the Burroughs, we've got some really nice kids. I can say that now. I'm in my 50s. Really good kids.

But I think it's interesting that when you are really attrition. sign that you have a franchise quarterback. Because a lot of teams have a quarterback, giants with Daniel Jones, Justin Fields of the Bears, Tua with Miami. There are glimpses, there are signs, but there's concerns. Justin Fields has not been great in the pocket. Daniel Jones is not productive enough. Tua gets hurt.

There are signs. But a true example of it, and the term I always use is, do you overcome? There's no perfect rosters. It's a tight salary cap. I mean, the Bengals got to a Super Bowl with bad linebackers in an atrocious offensive line. The Rams won a Super Bowl with weak linebackers, weak at safety. And they were getting creaky at left tackle.

They won a Super Bowl. And Odell Beckham got hurt at half and was having a great game at the Super Bowl. Like, there's no perfect rosters. This is not the 75 Steelers. I can name like 10 of their starters, maybe 11, 12 of their starters sitting here on a desk. Guy stayed forever. You paid them as much as you. you could. That's not the way it works now. The windows are tight. You win when you can. That's why New

England is hard to wrap your brain around that they had two 10-year dynasties. It just doesn't work that way. But a great example of what a franchise quarterback is, is Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Herbert. Let's talk Herbert for a second. So he walks into the NFL. Five minutes before the game told he has to start. His rookie year, it's the worst offensive line, according to PFF in the league. No excuses, 32nd. Their defense is 23rd, and the coach would eventually get fired. He didn't have the coach, the protection, and he didn't have the defense. And he set an NFL record for a rookie at 31 touchdowns, 10 picks. No excuses. But he had good receivers. Yeah, he was running for his life, and the coach got fired, and he had to win only by shootout.

And every year, not only has he been incredibly productive, but he wins more. Six-wings. wins, eight wins, 10 wins. So you're getting production. You're getting it, and he's an overcomer. Joe Burrow, this will finally be an elite offensive line. What is he in year four? He just keeps winning. On the road, playoff games.

You didn't even like Zach Taylor when he showed up. Overcoming. Lamar Jackson, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but is it me? Lamar Jackson's won 75% of his games. Has he ever had an offensive line make it through a season? he lost Ronnie Stanley. They have not drafted or developed wide receivers well. He's in a brutal division, the toughest conference.

His running backs, I mean, has anybody had more cluster injuries at running backs the last several years than Baltimore? If you really inspect Lamar Jackson's career, some of it, he's getting hurt too. But he's won 75% of his games in arguably the toughest division and the toughest conference without question. Everybody's always hurt around him. Now he's getting hurt. Like, you've got to overcome.

Daniel Jones, I don't want to hear it. He's got a top three left tackle in football, a star running back, a brilliant head coach, and a great defense. I don't want to hear it. Win games. Justin Fields, to his credit, has had to overcome a lot in the first two years personnel-wise. But the bears now have really good tight ends and wide receivers. They found a left tackle in the draft last year. Smart offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy. Got to win games. Can't go 5 and 20. Got to be 500 or better. So I think a great example of a franchise quarterback, do you overcome? Go back to Herbert's first year. Offensive line was the worst in the league. 31 touchdowns, 10 picks. Found five minutes before he was starting against Patrick Mahom because of a medical staff mishap and went toe to toe with Mahomes. So a lot of organizations, and I understand fans,

if you don't have a franchise quarterback, this is a brutal league. But they want to blame, we don't have this, we don't have that. I got to tell you, the New York Giants have a great, not a good, a great left tackle and a great running back and a great offensive coach. Daniel Jones has three things. 90% of this league doesn't have. A pro-bowl left tackle, a pro-bowl running back, and a pro-bowl level offensive guru head coach.

That's enough. Got to win 10 games. And they always say, well, quarterback wins is not. a stat. Yeah, it kind of is. The great ones win. They find a way. They overcome. Brock, who heard six years in the NFL. Four of those with the Seahawks. A couple of the Colts now lives in Denver. So the story this morning, Brock, great to see you as always, was Sean Peyton kind of getting down dirty and defending Russell Wilson. It's easy to see the comments and think he crushed Hackett. When I read into it is, no, no, no, no. I am selling

of this locker room, don't blame Russell. That was my interpretation of his comments, your thoughts? No, I think that's totally fair. He used to term this off-season, Colin, that I really loves, and I think you'll like it too, and maybe you've already talked about it. But Sean Payton got that job and really asked Russell Wilson and the entire team to start being anonymous donors, stop being these social media influencers and start to be an anonymous donor, buy in. And what you have seen really over the last six months, Colin, in the social media world, in the public realm is a lot less of Russell and Sierra putting themselves out there trying to be the show and realizing through a big, thick slice of humble pie last year, that it didn't work.

The be being the show, me being the coach, me running things with a Nathaniel Hackett, absolutely broke his reputation. And now he's coming back to, well, a whole lot more of the control and the umbrella that Pete Carroll had over Russell Wilson, certainly at the start of Russell's career in Seattle. You know, Brock, I was saying this. There's more money in college and pro football. And like Dion Sanders may not do it the way I would have, but he's like, there's the door. By year two here, if I'm not winning, I'm in trouble.

You know, Lincoln Riley has maybe been a tad more great. raceful with it, but there's more than one way to do something. And as there's more money in sports, we see that soccer stars being offered a billion dollars now, right? And that's not going away, the live golf tour, the NFL numbers, is that coaches are on the hot seat by year two. That's just the reality. But if shot is a bad year, year two, those new owners have, it's a rounding air now to write a $50 million check. What is a reasonable in your eyes, having played in this year for six leagues, you were a quarterback, you dealt, you played, you played with Peyton Manning. You know the profile, the pressure. What is realistic in year one in the

AFC for Denver? Well, John Payton said in that article that they're a playoff team. So can they get to 10 wins? Is that reasonable? And what was supposed to be a rebuild in Seattle last year, they get themselves to the playoffs with what, nine wins, nine, 10 wins. I think nine feels like a reasonable number to me in that division. But you just were talking about Justin Herbert. And being an overcomer. I think the word that's synonymous with that to me Colin, around Payton, my older brother around Tom Brady,

yes, you're an overcomer and you elevate everybody in the room. We're really saying the same things. You're overcome all the other stuff, but I love elevate. Can you elevate everybody to the next level? When that guy, Russell Wilson, was in Seattle, it didn't matter who came off the street at tight end.

It didn't matter who he was throwing to, whether they were undrafted free agents like Kirsts and Doug Baldwin, right? He elevated everybody around him. And I think Sean Payton has got a sense over these last three months of being on the field with Russell. There's still enough there. But it's the Russell that's going to move. It's the Russell that's going to create.

It's the Russell that's going to be in play action. It's the Russell that's going to move around and extend plays. And we're going to play and bring in a massive offensive tackle in McGlinchie. I'm going to bring a hammer in P. Ryan. We're going to run the ball. We're going to play action. We're going to get back to your strengths. Everything that Russell thought he could do and wanted to flush from his reputation.

in Seattle and say, no, no, no, no, I'm Drew Breeze. I'm a pocket guy. I think you're actually going to get exactly back to the Russell Wilson that was in Seattle. And Sean Payton knows that one in this league can still win and elevate and maybe even get you the playoffs with nine or 10 wins. So you know Pete Carroll well in the Seattle culture. Last year, I was wrong. I thought he was being stubborn. I thought he had to figure out a way to work with Russell Wilson, but they looked like geniuses. They got draft capital. Gino had a great year. Gino, yeah, I was happy for him. I mean, let's be on. honest, I liked it. I mean, it was a story I've never seen before. He was a bust redemption. So it's a

great American sport story. And Gino appears to have grown up. He's a good kid. But now I'm saying, can he do it again? Am I being too cynical? It's still a very young team on offense, offensive lines young, running backs are kids, receivers are young. Take me where you think Seattle is with Gino, the Gino thing here too. Well, I think at number of, five and 20, Colin, and I know you love team building, like Salk and I love it on our radio show in Seattle. You love as much how they build this team, the creativity of it, the vision of it, right? You have spent so much of your career in a great way and wrote a great book about how you build these teams and the way that people do it differently. I think at number five and 20,

they kind of answer your question. What do they do at number five? They went out and got an elite corner, a guy they think with Tariq Wulin can be a shutdown man to man and play the kind of defense from the back forward that Pete loves. But what did they do at number 20? Did they go and get a D-Lyman? Maybe their biggest need at 20, right? Did they add to the run game? Did they get an offense? No, what did they do at 20? They got the number one receiver in this draft, the first receiver taken in Jackson Smith and Jigba. And I think that was Pete. I think that was John Schneider saying, Gino's good. That's what you're saying, Colin. Gino's good. Can Gino be great? How do you go, right? Jim Collins wrote that book two decades ago, good to great in business.

How do I go from good to great? And I think they told you, get me a third down mercenary. Get me a guy in that slot that frees up D.K. and Tyler and these tight ends and Ken Walker behind him, that's the step that he's going to be looking to take. I think he can be good. I don't think last year was a fluke. Those numbers by the end of the year were real. And you had to swallow them. And I know you did. like this is out of nowhere. But going from good to great is going to take Jackson Smith and Jigba being a pretty elite dude like he was in Ohio State. So I said taking a $35 million pay cut for Aaron Rogers is not a shave. It's like a brand pivot. It's a realignment of priorities. And I do think you'd move your family a couple years ago. I think it's starting over is some people need it.

It's good for them. I know when I've moved from low, to syndicated every time I try, okay, I'm going to get better at that. I'm not going to do that. I got to do this better. It's like the chalkboard. It's all fresh. It's wiped clean. I don't know. I criticized Aaron for years. I thought he was disengaged, a little aloof. I don't know. It feels like he looked at Green Bay and went, I wasn't good at this, this, and this. I'm going to get better at that stuff. That's my, that's how it lands for me. How about you? Yeah, my father-in-law has got a bunch of sayings, calling that have stuck in my head for 20-some years. I've been married to his daughter, Molly.

And one of them, and this was early on. And I'm the son of a coach, right? My dad was an esteemed football high school coach in Washington teacher and coach, and that's what I had known. My father-in-law, Larry, spent his life in business. And he would say people enjoy doing business or people do business with people they enjoy. And Aaron, after all those years in Green Bay, in drafting Jordan Love, it was very, very clear he was tired of doing business in Green Bay. Yeah.

And now he's found an environment with young people, a young coach, New York City. As you said, a chance to totally reinvent his brand. And I think he's just enjoying doing business with people he enjoys being around right now. And it just got to a point in Green Bay. That was not the case. And so much so that in business he's doing something we've never seen and taken a $35 million pay cut because he so enjoys and is energized by this new environment. Finally, we grew up Pac-12 fans.

You played for Washington, obviously. That conference is going through some turbulence now, but I want to focus in on Dion Sanders in Colorado. Dion has not wavered. This is how I'm doing it. We're starting over. We don't have enough good players. Now there's a story they could go to the Big 12.

You live not far from Boulder, maybe a different world, even though it's not that far geographically. how is it playing in Colorado? When he first got the job, I thought, this is a weird fit. And then I thought over the weekend, I thought, you know, nobody talks about Colorado. He's going to get recruiting attention. How is it all landing the cleaning the program, Big 12 talk there? Well, the CU alums are totally energized, to your point.

I mean, they have been basement. They've not been Northwestern or Vanderbilt or the very, very bottom. But as far as, as you said, on the national radar, what, one winning season in the last like 15 years, Colin? One meaningful bowl game in the last decade. So he has just brought his juice. And you mentioned Lincoln Riley earlier. And I'm very curious, you could talk to your sources about this. Do you think Lincoln and Dion both knew?

Do you think Lincoln to leave Norman to go to USC knew what was inevitable with SC going to the Big Ten? Yeah. You think Dion, a Texas guy, right? and all of his background there. Do you think he knew that, yep, you know what? We're going to actually move back to that conference. We were once in and all of those routes that I have in those markets down in Texas. I'm going to be able to watch them bloom a little bit.

I tend to think that maybe they knew a little bit ahead of the rest of us. So, yeah, he's got a huge project ahead of them. Do I think they're going to go to a bowl game this year? No, because I think the line of scrimmage is still pretty darn important in football, and they've got a long ways to go. But do I know that our company is excited to watch the Dion show in primetime? Yeah. Do I know that Gus and Joel are going to be at TCU and at Nebraska the first two weeks to see what this show is all about?

He's bright lights. He's primetime. He's big time. And we're all going to get a chance to watch it. Brock, as always, you do such great work. Brock Hewered Fox Sports. So glad you're part of the family. My man, good seeing you.

Hey, Colin, let me just give one last shout out. Okay. Paul Seawalt. I don't know if you know that name, but he's going to be a trade ship. for the Mariners. Loves you. Loves this show, just as so many do,

as well. So keep an eye on Paul Seawall the next week, all right? All right. I've got my original Mariners hat

from the debut in April of 1977. I can name the lineup, but J. Mack won't let me Brock Hewerd. J. Mack, sometimes I go back to the 70s.

Bill Stein at third, Bob Stinson behind the plate, Danny Meyer at first. Did you just say Bill Nye, the science guy? Jose Baez at second. That's not a real play.

Are they not a singer? Yeah, he was number 14. And then Julio Cruz, number six, that season eventually replaced him. He played for a AAA team in Hawaii. Hey, sometimes I lapse into my 1970s rain man coma, whatever it's called. 1970s, huh? It's not good for ratings. I'm not saying it's great for ratings.

I, the Mariners, in my entire life, it's not been good for us. One or two great teams, three or four great players, Edgar Martinez, Griffey, Ray Buehner. Yeah, he was good. Solid. He was solid. A Rod was there briefly. Mark Langston, Randy Johnson.

Oh, Mark Langston. Lefty, right? Yeah. Yeah, I have a couple baseball cards of his that I thought were going to go to the moon and they didn't. Now you have soccer cards. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life. mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because. of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Welcome back. Good to have you in. How do you own the day in sports? You make incredible plays. How do we own the day with Irish Spring? Check out a local retailer today. Look for Irish Spring. J-Mac with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

We're contractually obligated to give you jet stories every hour, just five minutes. So real quick, the Aaron Rogers pay cut, as we discussed earlier, is going to pay dividends. Dalvin Cook is, visiting the Jets this weekend. Now, it's unclear what the status is of Bruce Hall who had the torn ACL last season. He was outstanding. I mean, on track to be offensive rookie of the year, tears the ACL. Don't know when he's going to be back. But if you go grab Dalvin Cook, it's like, we don't need to rush Breece Hall back. We don't need to pay a lot for Dalvin Cook, right?

Does he want to go play for a winner? Aaron Rogers, he knows, from the NFC North? Or, you know, do you want to go, you know, take a big check from some team that's going to win like five games? But I don't think running back between Michael Carter and Breece Hall, I don't think it's a position of need. Okay, so let's just say we don't know. What if Breece Hall is not like even 75% back? And they say, you know what? We want to start them on the Pupp list for first weeks.

Those tough games, we're not going to have our best running back. Can you go into battle with Michael Carter, meaning the way? I don't know. I just, if I said to you, like the Jets weaknesses to me, tight end a little bit, not great. Offensive line is the question. Dalton Riser is available, potentially, from the Broncos. He's an offensive lineman. He's an older offensive lineman.

But I don't, you have Austin Vera Tucker, but are you good at the other guard? Depth with Dwayne Brown is 37. I think you need another tackle. Yeah, you do. But a backup, and I don't know that there's one out there who fits the Jets yet. I think Michael Carter's more than capable for three weeks. I think he's good. He's good players.

You say that, but that first, that early schedule, it's like you open bills and Cowboys. Gotta win one of those games. I think they win both. I would want to protect Aaron Rogers at his feet. I'd want to go. Yeah, I just, I just, to me, I look at teams like Carolina with a young quarterback. You know, like Atlanta went and got Bejohn Robinson for Desmond Ritter. Like I would, Carolina, I would go get Dalvin Cook. They signed Miles Sanders. I think they got a $12 million deal. He's coming off a great season with the Eagles. I don't know. I just don't think that's their need. It's all about the price point. You know, if they can get in at a manageable price and save money.

We both agree Dalvin Cook's a really good player. He's an excellent player. Tell me who had a better offseason than the jet starting week one with Aaron Rogers Undercenter and Dalvin Cook at running back. Nobody else offensively did anything like that. Those are beauty positions. There are teams, I thought Denver went and got a right tackle and a guard. That's not better than Aaron Rogers and Dalton.

Oh, stop it. Mike McClinchie? Stop. Get out of here. Listen. Bottom line is the Jets are going to be exciting. Colin, we might have to do a viewing party for Jets Bill. Is that Monday night?

I'll let you have that one. Geez. Maybe I'll stop by wave. All right, let's get to some dicey news. Listen, you touched on earlier. Jalen Ramsey, I'm sorry, was at Dolphins practice today defending Tyreek Hill, and he goes down with a knee injury, and he was carted off to the locker room. Now, listen, we don't want to overreact.

We don't know the details. I remember a couple days ago. CJ G.J., remember the Lions just signed him? He goes down, carted off, and everybody's like, oh, my gosh, they just signed him, the secondary stinks, and he was like, oh, he's going to be out like a few days. Right, right. You're just preaching caution.

Let's not overreact. That being said, this would be significant. He is a top three corner in the league. Patrick Sertan, Soss Gardner, Jalen Ramsey. Well, my only knock on him has been he can be a little hyper-aggressive, He'll get smoked. He'll get smoked from time to time. He'll bite.

I called him a pile inspector on here because he doesn't love to tackle and then some people came out. Listen. A pile of inspect. He was awesome like four years. I mean, awesome. Well, Deion's the best. He's the kind of guy who runs up to after the tackle like he's, oh, okay. Well, Dion had a little bit of that, and he's the greatest corner in league history.

Dion didn't love collisions. I don't love collisions, do you? Well, I'm not a corner in the NFL. But Jalen's really good. He tends to bite on stuff. By the way, he's very aggressive, and there's rewards for that. He makes plays, but he can be a little aggressive. I think the Rams sometimes got, he got burned a couple of times in big spots,

and one of the reasons they moved off him. They kind of felt like we'd seen the best of him. Every time he gets beat, someone puts just an image on social media. A toast. A piece of burnt toast or a toaster. And I got Jalen Ramsey getting cooked again, you know. Listen, he's a good player, obviously. The dolphins are stacked, and, I'll see.

I'm not rooting for them. Final story. Dak Prescott led the NFL in picks last year with 15. Oh, by the way, Colin, he also missed five games. Remember, missed five games, still led the NFL in picks. Not great. Just going to put that out there. Yeah.

Kind of significant. Jerry Jones spoke about what he expects from his QB going forward. Expect is not the unexpected. What last year represented relative to turnovers was unexpected. I expect to see what we expect from that. which is don't turn the ball over and be protective of the ball, which is what he really, when I think of Dak, that's the first thing that comes to my mind.

That's what he does. Yeah, he's not a big pick guy. Oh, really? Six games last year with two interceptions. Well, no, no, generally in his career, he's not a big pick guy. I don't think of Dak as interception heavy. Do you? It doesn't really matter to me what he did three years ago.

He's coming off a season where he led the league in picks. It was a high-low season. He had some really good games, and then he had some awful games. This is interesting. This is a great... So, Dak needs to play clean, because he doesn't have a next level, like a borough or Alan or Lamar Jackson. When he's had zero turnovers in his career, he wins more than Brady. Oh.

When he has one or more, he's sub-500. So I don't think... Like, Mahomes can... Tom Brady's thrown pick sixes in Super Bowls. Aaron can make bad throws. Mahomes, Alan. but they can overcome it. Dak tends to need, he's like Kirk Cousins,

he's got to play clean to win. And that's okay. That's a B-plus quarterback. I would bet you Mike McCarthy showed that stat to the front office and they said, can we get Kellyn Moore out of here? Because he wants to throw the ball, and what happens when you throw the ball?

Jack's throwing picks. But Justin Herbert has the ability to throw a pick and win. So Herbert's a different, it's a different talent. I mean, Justin's got a bigger arm, bigger kid. Justin Herbert's a different level. a player, I think, than Dag. I really do. I think he's one of the five or six guys if I had as a quarterback. I wouldn't take a phone call.

So my point was, they're moving on from Kellynmore, who liked to throw. He was pass-happy. McCarthy said it. They're now going to Schottenheimer and McCarthy's on record and I've kind of hammered the Cowboys when you were out. I was like, listen, McCarthy said we want to run the ball and rest our defense

in what you know is a passing league. And if you look at all the teams that throw more than they run, they're at the top of the standings. And McCarthy wants to go, not quite to the Stone Age, but he wants to go back in time to, let's hand the ball off to Tony Pollard, who, by the way, is not the bell cow people think he is. How many games with 20 carries last year? Well, he's more of a pop guy.

Okay. That's why I think if you put the Cowboys in the AFC, not a playoff team. I think if you put them in the NFC, you just run out of teams you like. I mean, people are high on teams that haven't won. I mean, people are high on Chicago. My takeaway is their last 25 games, they've won five. What do you want me to, how am I supposed to be optimistic? So they won three games last year, and their win totals seven and a half.

Who? The Chicago Bears, so they're going to make a jump. I think the question is, did Dallas get better in the offseason? Losing their offensive coordinator? Come on. I don't think they did. But I think with Aaron leaving the NFC and Brady retiring, I think the NFC got worse. That's the thing.

I don't love Dallas, but you could say they're the third best team in the NFC. Absolutely. I think third or fourth, absolutely. So that's, it's a big difference. It's again, the third best team in the Big Ten and the third best team in the SEC, it's very possible Alabama could finish third in the SEC this year. Maybe not probable, but possible. The third place team in the Big Ten is not Alabama.

So like, I look at the NFC and I'm like, Dallas could actually host a playoff game, and I don't even like them. By the way, Dallas lost to the Niners in the playoffs last two times. Yeah. You love to say Dallas has a DAC, a good quarterback. Sam Fran beat Dak with Garoppolo and Brock Purdy. What's a better roster? They should. Okay.

Well, Dallas could have a better roster easily. Move on from Dak Prescott. Put Cooper Rush in there. Have a stacked roster. I think the stat you put up that's very fair with Dak is he plays clean, he wins, but he's not capable of overcoming turnovers. That's not who he is. That's a very clear stat of it.

of DAC is terrific when he plays clean. And that's okay. Some people, I had to cram for, I had to study for tests. I knew people that could literally breeze through notes, ace the test. I had to study, yeah, you. I didn't. I had to study for tests. Everybody's got different capabilities.

So I, you know, I'm a guy that's sitting there for six hours trying to get a B. Dak has limitations on the mistakes he can make and win. And I think to your point, Dallas wants to pull back the mistakes. Kansas City's not pulling back on the risk for Mahomes. They're adding more elements. Are the Bengals pulling back on H.O., hey, let's rain it in. No more.

Who's asking for more Joe Mixing? No. Just a different, different capabilities at quarterback. Would you be stunned if they went 7 and 10 this year? Dallas? Yeah. In the NFC, absolutely. I would be stunned.

They just, too many good players and two week of a division in conference. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Nick Wright on the show today, he is highly critical of the Jets, which I find very funny. 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. Two NBA Insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA Great Buy.

All happening in only one place. This League Uncut The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haynes And me, Mark Stein. Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein

On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashed. human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye They said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do a little camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tuesday morning on Fox, the 2003 FIFA Women's World. Cup continues as Alex Morgan and Megan Rapino lead to U.S. against Portugal. Coverage begins Tuesday at 1 a.m. Eastern with kickoff at 3 a.m. Eastern on Fox and the Fox Sports app. There's so many sports out there now and so many streaming options and there are sports

out there and their social media platforms that it's a very fragmented audience right now and getting attention tends to matter if you're a league or a sport. Baseball for whatever reasons has squelched personality, stepped on it for years. They don't like it. There's a way to play the game. And the commissioner Rob Manfred a couple years ago created an ad campaign, lightening everybody up. It's okay. Flip a bat occasionally, have fun, do a somersault. Whatever you got to do, high five, trash talk, it's okay. It's grown men. Nobody's going to get hurt. That's why I think the Otani thing is a fascinating story because baseball doesn't provide many. The Mets and the Padres have been major disappointments. The Yankees aren't very good either. If they don't have

Aaron Judge, they can't hit. And the culture of baseball isn't to speak out and be vibrant and dynamic as a personality. It's a bummer. There's a lot of interesting players. So I think the Otani story is fascinating. We have the greatest baseball player of all time. Sorry, he is. Can literally do more. It would be like Mahomes being able to be a cover corner. It makes no sense. And the Angels, I don't think teams know what to do in a trade. Do you give up five prospects. Well, then you got your entire farm system. Some of those guys you'll need because of what you're paying Otani to get a break on some of the contracts early. Do you trade four or five starters? Well, then you have a bad team and one great player on a bad roster. I don't know what

you do with Otani, but the Angels last night made a very aggressive move. They went to a White Sox team, got a top reliever and a top end starter and said, hey, we've been great since the All-Star break. We're going to go for it. I think it has a chance to work. Baseball is very unique. We do not hold losing against the legacy of a Ted Williams or a Barry Bonds or a Ken Griffey or an E.C. Roe or a Mike Trout. We don't.

You're still great. Great is great. And it ends right there. Ted Williams, Barry Bonds were great. It ends right there. We don't care about their playoff record. And so that's not to say it can't elevate you. It certainly helped Derek Jeter's reputation.

but we don't hold it against you. And so I think baseball, and I really believe this, there is so much downtime in baseball and golf. They're the only two. I mean, Kobe Bryant could have a bad half and then have a great second half. Steph Curry will have a bad stretch and then two great stretches. But because the game moves too fast.

Hockey, soccer, basketball, football, next play. Baseball, you have a bat at bat? you don't get up for another hour, 45 minutes, you think about it. You have an air, you think about it. In golf, bad foreiron, nothing but time to think about it. You may not grab that four iron for another hour and a half, and it's in your head. So I think with baseball and golf, a lot of it's mental. And those, I've never seen athletes that are more into their habits and routines

more than golfers and baseball players. and Mike Trout's like, I'm comfortable in Orange County. Nobody pays attention to us. I'm close to the beach. Family loves it. I'm going to stay here. Mike Trout was from the Northeast. Could have moved back.

Didn't want the pressure. Wasn't interested. We've seen the Mets, wilt under pressure. Padres, big expectations. Wilt under pressure. When's the last time the Yankees won a World Series? Like 14 years ago, I think, something like that. So I think Ichiro stayed.

Joe Mauer stayed. Joey Votto's had options stayed. Great baseball players. They like their comfort. They like their routine. Their families like it. They don't let sitting around the batting cage with nine Yankee beat riders get into your head. So I think there's a real opportunity for the angels to get them.

If they can play well, sneak into the playoffs, you know, you sell Otani on the future of the angels. I think it's fun. And I think it's a story that baseball doesn't give us a lot of these. You know, like a lot of big arguments, good debates. I am surprised a little that the angels haven't gotten a lot of offers, but most of that is people are terrified that if they gave up the farm system, and by the end of the year, O'Tonnie doesn't stay, you gutted your farm system and don't get them long term.

So I like it. The angels go all into win. I talked about this earlier, how during the five days off, I spent a lot of time reading on the NFL and all the camps, and I must have read 50 articles in the athletic. And one of the things that became very clear is, how much we agree and most people agree on what we have. We're now arguing over who's going to be second and third,

that because the league is now so defined by quarterback and coaching, that if you either have a star or you don't and you're first or fourth. And I went through the divisions. Overwhelmingly the belief is, now I think Miami, if two is healthy, will give Buffalo a run for their money. But the feeling around the league, from what I've read on all the previews, Buffalo wins it, Patriots are last. almost everybody comes in there.

AFC North. Bengals overwhelmingly picked for first. The last is iffy because they're all fairly capable, I would say Brown's last. AFC South, easy jags, who I think will end up the number one team, the number one seed in the AFC. And then the last place is Texans rookie quarterback, Colts rookie quarterback. AFC West, no doubt about it. Chief First, Raiders, last. Not a lot of dissension, not a lot of disagreement there with most of these.

NFC, it's Philadelphia first in the NFC East. Commanders last. Sam Hal's the quarterback. We just don't know much about him. NFC North Lions, believe it or not, are the favorite. Should be good personnel. They've drafted and developed very well last two to three years. Minnesota's not going to go 11 and O in close games, but they have an offensive coach, a very good quarterback,

capable star receivers. Packers Bears are battling for that last spot. Saints Bucks in the NFC South is not really a debate. Saints have easily the best roster. Bucks are going to be in the Caleb Williams sweepstakes. NFC West, again, nobody's arguing Niners' best roster easily, maybe in the NFL Cardinals last. Any great J-Mack pushback from you on any of these? Well, wouldn't you know it?

I have some numbers for you here. The Chicago Bears were one in seven in close games last year. So they should. We know historically that flips. That flips. Fumble recoveries and close losses flip. Yeah. The luck factor, right?

The Chicago Bears this year have three dome teams coming to Chicago in December. That's a advantage. Where'd you get that out? I got a buddy. I can't say. He puts out a good preview. Last year, the Chicago Bears, 12 of their opponents went over the win total. Their schedule last year was brutal.

This year, a little easier. Their favor in their first two games. I think you're sleeping. on Chicago a little bit. Okay, so I've said before, I think I've said. I think they're in the 7-8-ish window. Okay. And I think they look like a real, last year they couldn't defend.

They were bad. They were an awful team. I think they're in the 7-8 win. I think 8 and 9 is, I'm around there. That's sniffing a wild card in the NFC. What do you, what are you rolling your eyes? I think that's real. Eight and nine is, okay.

I don't think that's a wild card in the other. Maybe not. you're in the position in late December where Justin Fields is playing meaningful games. Well, it's very reasonable to have this opinion. Dallas is a wildcard team. Dallas has been winning 12 games a year. Isn't there some weird stat where nobody's won the NFCEs back to back in like 50 years? I don't think I'm just down on Justin Fields or the Bears as people think.

What I've said is you can't go 5 and 20. If Justin Fields was 10 and 15, I'd be like, okay, Bad receipt. Five-and-twenties, man overboard. I'm not down on. I still think Justin Fields, my guess is 55% going to succeed, 45 doubt. But I'm still on the side of, I think they'll get it right in Chicago. It's not apples to apples, but you just talked about baseball players and how they can't totally impact anything because it's just one player, one V-1. There's nine badgers, you might sit for an hour. So I want to work on you eliminating quarterback record. And a guy who's watching and texted us during the show, Mark's Sanchez has four playoff wins in his career. Four. All on the road. He's four and two in the playoffs. That's his career playoff record. You hear that. You're like, oh. Okay. Mark Sanchez.

Career playoff wins. One loss is, you can't put just, they're not five and 20 because of Justin Fields. First of all, that Jets team had the number one rush team in the league in the number one defense. It was a tremendous community football team. I mean, they did so much right. And so, and they were winning close games. I'm not taking anything away from anybody. that was not a, first of all, the league was not as quarterback reliant then.

Definitely. Secondly, it was not a quarterback-reliant franchise. Mark made plays. But that was, did Jets are one of the last teams that did it with defense and running? Well, hold on. Last year, Jets were 7 and 3, I think 7 and 3 heading into that Patriots game, something may be like that, with Zach Wilson at quarterback. Like, their record was good last year, and we know their quarterback play was terrible.

So I don't want to put it all on Justin Field that they were 5 and 20. I know he's the quarterback. I'm not. They traded Rochwan Smith and Robert Quinn last year. They just were like, we're going to dump them. And should have. They basically bottomed out and acquired a lot of draftics. They did what they're supposed to do with a quarterback.

So I think they can win. I absolutely think Chicago can win seven to eight games. Where do you think they fall? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they snagged a wildcard ber with nine wins. This is not the Grand Canyon here. Well, the win total is seven and a half, and you're thinking, I pushed you up to eight. Now, you had them last place in the division here. But again, last place in that division, seven or eight wins.

Unless the Packers really bottom out. I don't know what to make of it. We don't. That's a tough one. Nick right around the corner, two down, one to go on a Thursday. Live in Los Angeles, it's the hurt. 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's Streeter Side. help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.