The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Cooper Flagg will be fine, Aaron Rodgers is the Ideal Steelers QB & more details from the NBA Gambling Scandal

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

Colin explains why Cooper Flagg will be fine, and that he was asked to deal with a lot last night.The Knicks have become a good franchise but Colin believes they made a mistake firing Tom Thibodeau Aaron Rodgers is the perfect fit for the Steelers because he brings competience to the QB position Not a good day for the NBA: More on the huge gambling scandalSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the Herd. Wherever you may be, we're in Chicago. J-MAC Cooper Flagg made his NBA debut last night. Nobody's talking about it because Wembe went 40 points in 30 minutes. He played Cooper Flagg, the Duke Kid. He's reduced to the Duke. kid now. Ten points, 10 rebounds. Well, he started like 0 for two

at the half with like zero. He had one assists as a starting point card, Colin. Did you notice that? Years ago, there was a show that started called Succession. First two or three episodes, wonky, people are like, what is this? Middle, late of season one, everybody went, oh, it's a good show.

Year 2, 3, 4, 5, to win an Emmys. I see what we're doing here. Stuff, you got to let it bake. By the way, speaking of baking, Wembenyama, I mean, remember last year we ripped him for taking all those three-pointers? Yeah. Well, now we know why he wasn't shooting them because he wasn't strong enough.

He now looks like a totally different human. Colin, I'm still in awe of what I saw last night. Yeah, so Cooper Flagg, number one, he reclassified. He should be a freshman at Duke. Number two is Dallas asked him to play point guard. He's a wing. Number three is he was guarded mostly by Stefan Castle of the Spurs. all-rooky team, great defender,

and number four, he was probably nervous, right? So judging him is like judging a restaurant on opening night. You're still trying to work out the Kings. So again, at Duke, he also had two all ACC guards who are now in the NBA, so he didn't have to initiate offense, and they asked him to do that against Stefan Castle. So it's just point guard and wing in the NBA or two different positions. Sorry, he wasn't Shohei Otani last night,

hitting three bombs and striking out 10 in six innings. He's going to be a great player. Dallas got overwhelmed. They don't have Kyrie Irving. Wembe is unstoppable this point going forward, and here was Jason Kidd on Cooper Flagg's performance. He played well. Now the stat line is not going to say that,

but no one in this room is sitting in his shoes. And so I think he, again, as a rookie, define the way that he plays. I'm not going to sit here and change. his thought process he's going to be one of the best players to play this game so for him to see as a rookie how they're playing him to be able to go back and watch the tape because he's going to see it again yeah he's going to be fine some things need to bake give the restaurant a couple of weeks to work out the kings he's going to be fine and with that 46 years NFL films it is a

Thursday at second hour it's Greg Kosell I want to go immediately because the game that I thought was so compelling was Bo Nix against Jackson Dart, Denver getting behind, roaring back. And I have been a Bo Nix fan. I don't think right now he's a great deep ball thrower, and I do think between Cortland Sutton and Mims, they have deep ball targets. So he's been trailing a lot. It's been ugly.

It's been clunky. How do you view Bo Nix watching that game against the Giants? I think, quite frankly, Colin, this has been an up-and-down season for Nix, It's been very uneven. Now, there are times I watch their pass game, and I think this is a very condensed pass game. I feel like there's not a lot to it, which is surprising to say, given it's Sean Peyton. Now, again, he knows his quarterback better than you and I do, but I just feel like we're not seeing Knicks the same way we saw him last year, because I remember one of the things that really stood out to me a year ago was his ability to make throws between the numbers at the intermediate levels with a lot of juice.

and we're not seeing very much of that this year at all. And a lot of the good plays he's making later in games, we saw it against the Eagles. We saw it last week against the Giants. He's throwing fade balls to good receivers, where Sutton makes plays. Mims made a play in the game against the Giants. But we're just not seeing the same kinds of throws that we saw a year ago.

I don't have an explanation for that other than they're not there on the tape right now. Jackson Darts playing with a ton of confidence. What are you seeing there that you like or don't? Yeah, I think that that staff's doing a really good job, particularly on first down. You know, first down is always the best down to throw on because you're more likely to get more predictable coverages, more predictable looks. I think they're doing a really good job with him, defining that for him, because he does tend to be a little frenetic and chaotic. He tends to move. The play we just saw was obviously a coverage breakdown.

But his legs are a big, big factor. The concern you have with him is I think he's been in the blue 10 in every game he started. And he's going to have to learn that it's very difficult to play this way all the time in the NFL. But I think he has good traits. I'm curious to see as he develops. I mean, just think of someone like Drake May. Now, he doesn't throw it as well as Drake May does. But someone like Drake May, look how comfortable he's gotten this show.

year and the fact that when he runs, it's calculated. It doesn't look frenetic, and he looks very comfortable in the pocket. Dard is by no means at that level, but he certainly hasn't played as much as Drake May has. Let's talk Drake May, so he's on a bit of a heater right now, and we always like his size and his mobility. Is there anything that you look at and go, wow, with Vrable and Josh McDaniel, he is noticeably better at Blank? Well, I think one thing, and by the way, I've always been a big believer that when you have a young quarterback, you want an NFL coach coaching him that has a resume in the league. You don't want a young kid who doesn't have a resume.

And obviously, that's Josh McDaniels, and they're clearly doing a great job. But I think two things with Drake May have really stood out to me. Number one, and I didn't think this showed up on his college tape, I think his ball placement this year has been really good. And I think coming out of college, a lot of us had concerns that he was a little erratic with his ball location. It's been very, very good. The other thing that I think stands out on film this year about Drake May, and it's a trait that I think is essential for a quarterback, is pocket movement. Not scrambling, not running out of the pocket, but playing within the pocket.

Let's say the size of smaller than a boxing ring, but where you move within, you step up, you slide right, you slide left, you climb. I think he's done that really, really well, and the trait that goes with that that's critical is keeping your eyes up. don't drop your eyes and look at the rush. You feel pressure, you never see pressure. Let's go to Mahomes, a veteran quarterback. I was talking to J. Mack earlier, I said, this receiving core, Worthy, Rice, Hollywood Brown is a little twitchy. And I think Mahomes is smart enough to say a lot of these guys,

it reminds me the Niners about three years ago with Debo and Kittle and McCaffrey. Just get the ball out. Sure. Let them make people miss. I look at this thing, and I watch Mahomes, and he seems very intentional, he wants to get that puppy out fast, that's what it looks like to me. Well, it's funny you say that because that's exactly what I've been thinking, watching him the last number of weeks. And so very often what I do, Colin, is I watch tape and I see something,

and then I check a stat. I never start with the stats. I always want to start with the tape. And so I'm noticing as I watch tape that, boy, this offense looks really rhythmic, which it hasn't always, as you well know. We've discussed that over the years. And so I looked up from Snows, to throw, he's number one in the league and how quick it comes out. Wow. So what you see is correct, and what I saw on tape is correct. All of a sudden, this past game is very rhythmic. And I think Rice will only help that, because Rice is not really a burner.

Rice in many ways works the same area of the field as Kelsey. He kind of works between the numbers in the short, short to intermediate areas, and he gives Mahomes a quick place to deliver the football. And Patrick, in these last couple of weeks, has really really... really played at a super efficient level. Maybe not the way we think of them, but at a super efficient level. And I guarantee Andy Reid is not bothered by that at all. Speaking of Niners, I think Shanahan could be coach of the year.

Totally resourceful. No kiddle. McCaffrey had 30 touches last week or 31. They're waiting for IUC to come back. Debo is now a commander. Mack Jones actually sneaky moves once in a while, shows his mobility, but not as much as Purdy. When you look at their offense today,

they've had to be very resourceful. I mean, Bosa, Warner, Huffunga, Greenlaw, they're doing the most of what they have. What is their offense right now in San Francisco? What do you see? Well, I think they wanted to be run first, which always is the way Kyle Shanahan starts, and I thought last week was a great example

because you have to beat your opponent every week. Obviously, you have an overriding philosophy. You've heard really good offensive coaches talk about that. I've heard Sean McVeigh talk about that, but then you also script that philosophy to your opponent. And last week against Atlanta, not a big front, they ran the ball inside, and it was their best running performance of the season. 65% of McCaffrey's runs were inside between the tackles. And do not discount the impact that George Kittle makes as a blocker.

And not even on blocks, let's say he's playside, because what I noticed watching the film, Colin, even when he was a backside blocker, he can block. Offensive ends one-on-one. And you know what that allowed them to do? Double team on the inside and move people on the inside. And McCaffrey obviously had the big game. He had a ton of 10-plus-yard runs. And also, he's got over 500 yards receiving already.

So he's on pace for over 1,000 receiving yards. Yeah. I want to talk about Dallas. We got into this discussion the other day. I said one of the advantages, sometimes, and maybe the Cowboys knew this, but one of the advantages of George Pickens and C.D. Lamb is that I think it's actually helped their run game. You can't cheat as a safety because Pickens. C.D. Lamb separates a true number one.

Pickens is more of a catching radius, yards after K, a very strong player. But when I watch them on the field, it does feel like, and this is not a great O line. It's not Detroit or a Denver or the Colts. My take is Pickens, and I don't know if it was an intended or unintended benefit, benefit, Pickens and C.V. Lamb actually help the run game because the shock of the season to me is, this isn't a great O line. This isn't even the Bears' interior O line. Dallas is running the ball better. Why? Really well. Well, I think it's the way you can deploy Pickens and Lamb, because Pickens is a true what we call Boundary X. He's the single receiver to the short side of the field, and you just saw

how important that is. Just think back to last week at the end of the first half, okay? They gained 77 yards on two plays at the end of the first half. There's the first one, okay? And that was where he was the boundary X, and you throw it up to him on a fade ball, and he beats Latimore. Now, what this allows Lamb to do in the context of this offense is Lamb now is the movement receiver. You can line him up anywhere. You put him in motion. He gets free access. He can run multiple route concepts from multiple splits. So you have two receivers now who are really, really good at what they do. And Dax's playing at a really high level.

We just saw the Lamb touchdown, which was an unbelievable play, by the way, because that ball on that particular route concept never goes to that receiver, but the defense dictated it as such. And the one thing I've really noticed on Film Con, and this blew me away. Play action, so I looked up the numbers. You know what Prescott's numbers are on play action this year? it's going to blow you away. He's 60 for 71 on play action, which is close to 85%, close to 85% with seven touchdowns on play action out of 71 throws and no interceptions. So their play action

pass game is just off the charts. A quarterback that is struggling, but again, I thought the Colts were a better team last week. Justin Herbert has lost three of four, and I know Harbock and coach, and I know Justin's good. My take is I can't judge him right now. I do think they'll turn it around when they get everybody back, but they don't have a run game. I mean, what are you seeing? I feel really bad for Herbert. Yeah, there's a disconnect there in my view. And again, I never rip coaches. They know their players better than I do. But you're dealing with a poor offensive line, certainly at the tackle position, and I'm sure Alton will be back, if not tonight, certainly next week. But you're

dealing with a poor O line, and Herbert has thrown more passes than any quarterback in the league. That's a disconnect. So it's very, very difficult to play that way with a poor O line, poor pass protection, and a quarterback that has too many dropbacks. Now, last week they got behind 23-3 at the half, and obviously they came out in the second half and felt that they had to throw. But even before Joe Alt got hurt, this offense did not look, I think what we expected it to look like. There's been too many dropbacks. And even with Alt there, it's still not a great O line. So they may feel they don't have a running back now that O'Marion Hampton is out. They may feel they don't have a bellwether running back, and this is the best way they can play. As I said, they know their players better than I, but I just think you can't ask Justin Herbert to drop back this many times behind that offensive line.

It's just bad things are going to happen. So Mike Tomlin was upset when the Bengals acquired Joe Flacco from Cleveland, and now we know why. Flacco has a history on short rest of beating Tomlin. We've talked about old Brady and old Aaron and old Stafford. Sure. But I watch old Joe Flacco, and that's a guy that is uncomfortable. He gets the playbook after about three practices. I mean, what did you say?

I find him fun and easy to watch. Oh, I love Joe. He's from South Jersey, so I know him. I know it's family. He's just a guy that, you know, it's funny, I had a chance to really spend time with him a number of years ago here at NFL films and he just he looks at the position i don't want to say like it's easy but he doesn't over complicate it and that's one reason you always see him throw to the one-on-ones you know to him it's the

n-fell if it's one-on-one you throw it you know you talk to him it's like well if the safety does that well then i'm going to throw it over there if the safety does something else i'll throw it somewhere else and he's always very sort of simplistic in how he sees things and he will always throw the one-on-ones and he will always throw the ball between the numbers which are really difficult throws. We know every once in a while he makes a throw that you go, Joe, why'd you make that throw? But that's because he's always so aggressive. And, you know, I want to show a play, which was from the last game, that Thursday night game against Pittsburgh, which to me is just classic flaco, where not that the game's easy, but just the way he sees it. Okay, so this is a 37-yard pass on

3rd and 4 to Yoshavos. And you'll see as we break this down, just the way Joe sees the game. I mean, the way any quarterback should, really, on this play, he's in the gun here. It's going to be two-by-two set. And we're going to show you where Chasen Higgins are, because they're the key guys here. So they are critical. Now, what they're going to run are essentially what we call mirrored shallow crossers. They're both running shallow crossing routes. Now, the safeties here, and this makes perfect sense, it's third down. They're going to drive down to try to take away Jason Higgins. They're kind of bracket-double-type situations. That makes perfect sense. So now, Joe's going to see that. So now what does he have? He has Yoshavaz one-on-one against Darry.

a sleigh. So this is just what I'm talking about. The safety's dropped down. There's the one-on-one. That's who you throw it to. And I guarantee Joe would talk about it just like that. He'd say, yeah, that's who you throw it to because it's one-on-one. And, you know, that's a third and four, and it's 37 yards. But that's the way he plays the game. He just sees it cleanly. Of course, he's played a lot of football. And you mentioned getting a playbook in three days. There's probably not a lot in a playbook, column, that Joe Flacco hasn't seen. Yeah. Greg Kosell, 46 years, NFL films. Thanks, Greg. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. Tonight, Thursday night

football, we'll talk about that. I got some thoughts on the Knicks. I watched the entire Knicks Cabs game. Aaron Rogers, is it as leadership, is it as intelligence? People are complicating that. And that NBA story, Kosh Patel, FBI, earlier, between a poker ring that sounds like casino

meets rounders to a handful of NBA people involved in prop bets and the unders. It is a wild story. These are accusations. The coach, Chauncey Billups in Portland, temporary leave. Terry Rozier, the player in Miami, temporary leave. He was also nursing and injury.

So two active, a coach and a player are, I've been jettisoned for the time being in the NBA. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand. Whenever you'd like. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of piping hot baseball talk

featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a podcast.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. 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. And 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 Smygel

and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the

plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes 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 Slic 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 in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world.

right now and I actually can win on any surface 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 podcast or wherever you get your podcasts presented by capital one founding partner of iHeart women's sports Dave Roberts dodger manager top of next hour I watched the entire nix calves game last night and it reminded me a lot of last season uh Carl anthony any towns, a couple dumbfowls early, that in the fourth goes off, does what he does offensively. He's a crazy talent. They kind of separate and beat the Cavs.

Jalen Brunson didn't play particularly great. Didn't shoot the ball that well, had the ball in his hands. They've got several players, Deuce McBride, OG, Bridges, who are capable of hitting 15 to 18 points on any given night. The Knicks are a very good team? My question, same with the Cavs is, are they good enough? They're a good team. I could do with a little less Jimmy Fallon pretending he loves the NBA, but outside of that, they're a good team, they're a good watch.

They have an elite point guard. I see teamwork. They're Villanova of the NBA. I see passion. They play hard. They've got multiple guys who can hit shots if you need them. I do think Carl Anthony Towns and Brunson on the floor together gives you a defensive hole that in the east will not be enough of a hole to get beat on most nights.

It won't be exposed in the east, but I do feel like watching them. They're like six years ago watching a really dominant or really good Big 12 football team and the Western Conference is the SEC. I don't think they match up with the NBA's best. They're good. I feel like I watched the team that I saw last year. I see teamwork. I see passion.

I see elite point guard. I see Carl Anthony Towns absolutely crazy elite talent. Here was Brunson after the win over the Cavs. I think the most important thing that we do is to come with a clear mind and open to learning, open to getting better. Every year is different. Obviously, we have a lot of returning guys and stuff with that, so that may be the same, but things are different,

and it's all about how you adapt and how you adjust. Learning on the fly is going to be good for us. It's going to keep us fresh. Yeah, I was watching it last night, and the Knicks have become a good franchise. I would not have gotten rid of Tibbs. I think it was a 50-50 split with fans. Mike Brown's more than capable, been around the league.

Nice guy, smart guy, players like him. Tibbs can be a little rougher. I didn't think Tibbs was overly creative offensively, but Brunson's got the ball in his hands all the time. The offense is Jalen Brunson. And this is not college where the coach is dictating what you run. The game is so fast and fluid. The offense is Jalen Brunson.

When he's hot, it's a handful when he's not like last night. It can be a bit clunky and they have to rely on OG or bridges. or cat to take over early in the fourth. That's what they are. They're good. And that's good enough, probably in the east, to get into the conference finals if they're healthy. J. Mack with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, let's go to the NFL, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. One of the better stories, the first quarter of the season here, Colin, took a tough loss against Detroit on Monday night football.

But, man, I'm looking at that injury report. Oh boy, it's not looking good against the Saints this weekend. Baker Mayfield has chimed in on letting the media know what he thinks about the New Orleans Saints. It hasn't exactly been clean play from their part when we play them. It's a physical game. It is what it is. You're expected division rival. I like that he just throws it out there.

They're cheap shot artists in New Orleans. Well, remember Lattimore and Evans used to go at it, but Lattimore's been shipped out of town. He's not there anymore. By the way, Mike Evans, obviously out. He's out. He's going to miss almost the entire season. Godwin, not back yet. He came back briefly and they got hurt again.

And Bucky Irving, my guy who carries me in fantasy, going to miss again. I mean, I thought Tampa Bay would be the side here. Anything from you on this? Buck Saints? No, I think the lines about right. If Tampa was healthy, I think they'd work them. It's not a great slate this weekend. I've had really back-to-back great weeks, and it's not a great numbers week.

it's a lot of crossing your fingers. I like a lot of favorites this week, but the favorites I like are beat up. So I do not think this is a good week for numbers. I agree totally. I think Saturday is a much better week. Last two weeks, I've eaten it up.

Four and one, four and one. I don't like the numbers. There's two games I like a lot. So it's just one of those where you watch tonight, I'll look at the injury report. You cross your fingers on Sunday. Guys are healthy. I may take Tampa. I'll just wait.

Yeah, basically you talk. out Thursday and toss out Monday since it's a 10 and a half, 12 and a half point spread. So now you're down basically to 11 games because there's six teams on a buy. And I like two numbers. I'll have to wait for them. You haven't told me because you know you keep this stuff close to the vest when you're running hot. When you're cold, you're asking me for advice. But anyways, let's go to Justin Jefferson, Colin and the Minnesota Vikings.

The best gritty guy in the NFL, Justin Jefferson. He's having a great start to his career. Crazy number here. He's played with eight different quarterbacks. Justin Jefferson enters Thursday night football needing just 40 to surpass Julio Jones as the fastest player to reach 8,000 receiving yards. Julio did an 85 Jefferson playing in his 84th tonight. Somehow the charges are taking money here.

This was three, most of the week, now three and a half. Yeah, I don't have much here. I got a couple buddies going to the game. But I don't know that this is even that interesting of a game. If it was McCarthy against Harbaugh, I would be into it. But this Carson-Wentz experience, man, we talked about it yesterday. He's just not a good quarterback right now. Well, and the Chargers are just a shadow of what they would be.

You're really getting sort of the B team offensively. And you can't ask any quarterback in this league, including Mahomes, to throw it 55 times a game. It's just not fair. That's not. I've said this. With Mahomes, I'll give you 33 throws a game with most quarterbacks in the NFL, including Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold. Like guys who are, you. getting going to get pro bowl consideration.

28 times a game is about what you want your quarterback throwing. If they're throwing 38, it means you trail. If you're throwing 48, it means you're desperate. So asking him to throw closer to 58 throws and 56 throws and 55 throws, that tells you, Harbaugh doesn't want to do that. Harbaugh, go back to J.J. McCarthy at Michigan. He went an entire half where he didn't throw the ball at all. So they're playing a game.

They don't want to play right now. Yeah. I mean, we still, Hampton's not back. This Joe Alt stuff. I'm almost sick of reading about it. I'll just say, I think the dogs have been barking on Thursday night football this season. Remember last week, obviously Bengals beat the Steelers. So just be careful before laying it with the Chargers.

Final story, Con, let's go to a little NFL beef. We need more of these. They're fun. Yesterday we broke down the Sean Peyton War of Words with Russell Wilson. Russ jumped on social media to call Peyton's comments classless, invoking the bounty gate scandal, which always cuts deep. Well, now, Sean Payton has backtracked from his comments and saying, my bad, it was taken out of context.

That was strictly about Dart. I mean, and I, that was in no way, shape, or form, anything that was directed at Russ. So, and I might be able to see how he might perceive that, but come up. off that win and watching how he played yeah that that wasn't any intention at all

yeah I said you're buying that not really they're just different they're just different personalities and that's okay I mean one guy's hot wire he's raw and it's like the LeBron Westbrook thing we talked about

the mistake is by the front office of the Lakers those are two different personalities totally Brown's more calculated and measured. He's got great self-awareness when it comes to basketball. And, you know, Westbrook's going 100 miles an hour. Russell Westbrook would admit that, has admitted that. He plays the way he plays. And they're just not complimentary players and their personalities are different.

And so we always blame the player. You know, like sometimes it's the front office. I think when Sean Payton took that job, my take was, oh, that Russell thing's not going to work. knowing both of them a little bit, I'm like, that's not going to work. So, you know, it's just, I, listen, I've had to work with people that I don't connect with.

Just take the high road, don't punch down, move on. It's, I think if Sean could have taken that back, he probably would have. But he's just, he's raw. Sean's going to tell you what he thinks. Yeah. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The herd lie news. Greg Kossel, Chris Simpson today, Dave Roberts, Dodgers manager. I talked about this. I think Toronto's a tough matchup for the Dodgers because Toronto scores runs and hits the ball and gets on base. I thought that about Milwaukee. Toronto is a more talented version of Milwaukee with Vlad Guerrero and George Springer, who's one of the great clutch hitters the last 10 years in baseball, postseason clutch hitters.

So Dave Roberts will join us. But it is interesting as somebody who spent a lot of time in California over the last eight, nine years. There's this animosity toward the Dodgers. I'm like, I can remember when I lived out east and worked for the other place. The Yankees and Red Sox owned the offseason, and it was considered elevating baseball. Oh, what a joyful moment. Red Sox Yankees again battling for the pennant. I didn't have a problem with it.

It was fun. It was fun to be part of it. I would come home every day, workout, and my little home gym, turn the TV on and watch talk radio and sports radio, talking about the Yankees and the Red Sox and it felt like Duke Carolina basketball or Raven Steelers' rivalry 10 years, 15 years ago. but everybody now just like people fear what they think is pulling away from them

in society and business and life they hate what they fear and I think the feeling is with the L.A. economy and the attractive weather. It's one thing if New York is winning and overpaying for it, everybody in New York, even the rich, have to sacrifice. But in L.A., if you're rich, you know what I mean?

The weather's perfect. The economy's good. The Pacific Ocean. There's a little bit of anti-California. a sentiment about everything. Their politics, their sports, and it would be much easier to hate the Dodgers if they had a bunch of jerks,

or if they had a bunch of egos, or they were doing what the Astros did, or they were the Kardashians flashing their wealth. But I said this. Max Muncie got cut by the A's. And I think he's the all-time postseason home run leader in Dodger history, like

ahead of Steve Garvey. So, you know, I don't, I mean, you're calling, you lived in California. I'm just telling you, knowing people that cover them, when you see the guys around town, they're just guys. It's funny in L.A., the sports stars are very chill. Matt Stafford's chill. L.A. Kings are chill. The Dodgers, the Rams. I don't think it's an unlikable team. Astros, I got it. Some Yankee teams, I get it. Coming up next, is it leadership, talent? What is it with Aaron and the Steelers? I've got to take next.

You're 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, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, 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 Jones? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

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 remember. 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 Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo SlicLife-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 went.

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

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Tomorrow, the World Series begins on Fox as Shohei Otani and the reigning champion Dodgers take on Vlad Jr. in the Blue Jays. one of the World Series. Coverage begins tomorrow.

Seven Eastern on Fox. All right, Dodgers are nine and one in the postseason. I thought the Milwaukee series was shocking. The Brewers hit 118. That's not going to happen with Toronto. But it's a historic run. And if the Dodgers win, they officially classify as a dynasty.

And what's scary for everybody else is Roki and Yoshi and Othani hasn't even played particularly well in most of the postseason. Mookie Betts. in his prime. They got some older guys for sure. But it's a lot of these players are young and not even in their prime yet. By the way, on the gambling story with the FBI, the way I look at all of this stuff, the reality of a free society is it allows people to make really poor choices.

And I don't want to live in a society with perpetual stop signs. If you can't monitor your eating and your alcohol and your cannabis and your gambling, many of us can. Most of you. Most of you, Most of us. So when you live in a society with the freedoms and the liberties that America has, it does allow a lot of poor choices. Don't make them. Okay, that's how I look at all this stuff. I don't want to live in a rigid society or a society that's constantly telling me you can't do that, nor do I want to be friends with people who are precious and idealistic and unrealistic. I had a cocktail last night. I didn't have two. I had a beautiful dinner and a cocktail. And then I put it down and watch the NBA for the next two hours. And I feel bad for people that make poor choices. But this is the downside to being in a society that has so many freedoms and opportunities. People screw themselves up. People do not do a good job of managing themselves.

Not all people, maybe not a majority of people. But as we see this morning with the FBI story, plenty of people. Okay, so I saw a headline today. Aaron Rogers is a different kind of leader. one the Steelers needed. Oh, baloney. He's competent. That's all this offense is about.

Aaron's competent. Go back to Big Ben, 2020, 2020, 21. Do you remember those teams? They couldn't run the ball, and I remember a lot of punts. Then they pivoted to Kenny Pickett, 22, and 23. They couldn't pass the ball, and I remember a lot of punts. And then they pivoted to Justin Fields and Russell Wilson last year, and they couldn't do anything.

and they were atrocious in the red zone. This team is good in the red zone better, and they're pretty good on third down, and they run it a little better, and they don't throw it down the field a ton, but they're just competent. This is not about leadership. It's about a grown-up who's been around.

Aaron moves better than people give him credit for. He's doing a good job of using the size of his top four targets, and that's what this really is. his passer rating right now, 105 is the highest for any Steeler quarterback ever. So old Big Ben, it was ugly. They couldn't run.

And then Kenny Pickett, that was ugly. They couldn't pass. Last year they couldn't do anything. In fact, the two quarterbacks they let go up from last year are 0 and 9 this year. And Mike Tomlin won 10 games with the guys last year. So Mike Tomlin just needed competency. It's not about leadership. Aaron makes good decisions.

He still moves okay. He really does. He's not Drake May or he's not Bo Nix. He moves fine. And he's confident and he loves football and he talks football and Mike Tomlin addresses that. He loves it. It's who he is. He loves the process.

He loves to talk ball. He loves to educate his teammates to get on the same page. He doesn't tire in terms of seeking resolution to issues. It's just a lot of good things about him other than obviously his physical talents and skills that have been really impressive and again, as I mentioned, not that I'm shocked by it,

but it's still highly appreciated. The only thing I worry about, I mean, Aaron Rogers at this point is precious cargo. Like when he makes a great play, please, if you're a 340-pound lineman, Broderick Jones, please don't rush over and tackle Aaron Rogers. I know. It's like one of those packages you send, and you put the ribbon around it, like, fragile. Aaron talked about that.

The only tackle I had the other night was Broderick, so more than that, I'm feeling pretty good. Rod is always the first one to come find me after a play. It could be like the first big pass down to D.K. on third down, he's coming and dapping me up. And what you don't see in the video is right after the throw. He's coming over to me and shaking me and shaking me. And like I text him, I say, hey, man, I love your energy. I love everything you're about. But also, I'm 41.

Okay? You can't be out there tackling me. Yeah, he's a bit precious cargo. I actually love the Steelers in this spot this weekend. This is one of my favorite numbers. It's come down. And the reason I like it is because Mike Tomlin, as an underdog at home, chip on his shoulder, Aaron, you know, he wants to play well against the Packers.

And Green Bay is playing with their food. They haven't been overly impressive, even though the Colts and the Packers are the only teams with only one loss. So it's a great spot. I think it's one of the real entertaining games of the week. I think the two games I really want to watch. I think this game's interesting. I think if Lamar Jackson plays, we can look at the schedule.

I think if Lamar Jackson plays, that game of the Bears is really, really interesting. And I'll say this. I think the Giants at Philadelphia is interesting. The Giants are real. What you're seeing with the Giants is not a mirage. Sometimes in September when the weather's good, teams look real glossy and speedy and quick and fun. Miami Dolphins do that. But then October, November, December, it gets cold.

You have to run the football. You need pass protection. Your quarterback needs to have a stronger arm. And they kind of regress. I think the New York Giants are real. And I think they'll give Philadelphia a real game. I think Jackson Dart has been surprising. It is not a great schedule this weekend.

There are a lot of quarterbacks hurt. But I just read this from Jeff Zrieveek. He's a reporter. Lamar Jackson is practicing second. and straight day seem to be working at a similar rate as of yesterday. So I think that the Chicago Bears have won four straight and J-MAC and they've been beating kind of the dregs of the NFL. This would be an impressive win. Baltimore is getting healthy.

I will say this and we talked about it earlier. Because there's a microscope on Caleb Williams, if you look at his first six games with Ben Johnson and Jared Goff in Detroit's first six games and Detroit had Penae Soule and Amaran St. Brown and a very good old line. It's the same. The difference is we didn't watch golf early. We're watching Caleb. I think it's a really good game.

I think the numbers inflated, do you think with a healthy Ravens team, the one thing they have that Chicago is four and two, of course they want to win. Baltimore feels like they have to win the next five games they play. That's why I like the Ravens here. Yeah, I'm with you. It seems like the bears are getting not only just lucky

key, but the turnovers are breaking their way. They have like 13 turnovers plus 13 in the last four games. Like, come on. And the quarterback's they face, Spencer Rattler, Jaden, Daniels in the rain, the immortal Gino Smith, and then, Dak Prescott, in the game, CD Lamb went down.

Yeah. And if you remember, they had like two or three turnovers, I believe, in the red zone in that game the Cowboys did. So I'm with you. I like the Ravens. Colin, you're making me nervous here, man. You're on a heater, and you don't like the games. I mean, if you're not seeing stuff you like this weekend, what the rest of us going to do. I'm not with you on Pittsburgh, though. I don't see what you're

seeing there besides the Mike Tomlin as an underdog at home. Yeah, I will say this about Caleb Williams is he has been under such a microscope when he replaced Spencer Rattler at Oklahoma. I remember the game. And you're like, oh my God, this kid is really special. And then he goes to USC and he just, he puts up huge numbers. Then he goes to Chicago. And I think he's getting better. I think it doesn't always look pretty. And I tend to watch quarterbacks and coaches, their body, language. Ben Johnson clearly gets frustrated with him. But Caleb this week talked about Ben and their relationship. There are things that I can be better at. There are things that I'm going to be better at. There are things that, you know, that, you know, weren't hitting a day. And, you know,

you just have those days sometime. And it's nice that we have a defense, we have a special teams, a punter or whatever you want to say, kicker that can put us ahead, that can help us win games, a run game that can, you know, control the game. And so, you know, we get this figured out on my side. We'll be, you know, we'll be putting up a lot of points to be very dangerous. Big story today, the NBA, the FBI, J. Mack and I talked about that. It is, these are accusations. It's not a good day for Chauncey Billups, who I always thought was one of the more kind of mature players, coaches in the NBA. Not a great day. I will say there was some internet video of Terry Rosier with Miami.

That stuff surfaced last year. And, you know, there were a lot of people saying, this is weird video like it looks intentional. Do you remember seeing that stuff? Yeah, certainly. Now, I will say his agent came out, or his lawyer, sorry, Terry Rozier came out and is staunchly defending. Hey, he talked to the FBI multiple times in 23.

The NBA interviewed him for over a year. He's been cleared by the league. That video is extremely suspicious. when you watch it, but I don't know what to make a Rozier. Just to be clear, you did make a good point. The Billup stuff is totally separate from gambling on the NBA. That's the poker game

with the alleged mafia. And there are some videos circulating that, you know, from Reddit and stuff that are worth watching. I'll just say that in regard to those poker games. But I don't know, do you think Adam Silver's like really nervous about this? I mean, well, I think it's... N.HL. just got in bed with Kalshi, you know, the prediction market.

So the sports leagues are in the... intertwined with gambling. You know that. Of course they are. And so, you know, I don't, I'm not going to get on my high horse. I think transparency like this. I've said, these are actually good days. Like, let's find the bad actors. But it's Lacosa Nostras involved, like 13 members of La Cosa Nostra.

Not great. No. But I, listen, man, they've done documentaries on Henry Hill, Boston College. In the 70s, hour three now. 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, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open,

only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. Jen, she's an outsider to win the French win. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerabakhina is arguably the best player in the world right now. I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.