The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - NFL Buy, Sell, or Hold

Episode Date: August 11, 2023

Colin reacts to Baker Mayfield's recent comments Colin gives his NFL predictions in "Buy, Sell, or Hold"Guest: Eric ManginiSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. It is a Friday.

It's our number two. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Said, ordered Greek food, poured a cocktail, and watched four NFL teams last night, mostly backups, and I didn't care. Tonight, six games, five I care about. Now, unfortunately, I just moved into a little place. I don't have all these TV, so I can't yet watch five games in succession, or five games simultaneously, excuse me.

So I'm going to have to make choices tonight. Kind of want to watch see if Kenny Pickett, a little Kenny Pickett and a little Jordan love. So I want to start with this. So, you know, I do that thing every Monday, Colin right, Colin wrong. There's always a lot of both. And I've always understood. people, it's our most popular segment according to ratings, has been for years.

And people love when I say I'm wrong. And it's fun. I'm wrong all the time. But I was very right on Baker Mayfield. And so I'm always reticent to go back and bang on Baker because I won and there's no reason to pile on.

But he said something yesterday that I think's important. And he was talking about, you know, playing and replacing Tom Brady. And the bite, I just want to read the first half of the bite. Hey man, I've always been myself. That's kind of why people love or hate me. I do it my own way. Stop right there. That is not why people hate you. And hates too strong a word. Lamar Jackson does it his own way. And Jalen Hertz does it his own way. And people

love those guys. Because they're humble. And they're part of a collective and a team. And we've seen them fail and they double down and they're quiet and their great teammates. America has always celebrated unique. We're fascinated by it. You are? I am. Nobody hates Baker. I don't hate Baker. I'm disappointed. And what he did is a cautionary tale. I tell my kids this. The greatest job you may ever be offered could be at 21 years old. Get your stuff ready in college and be ready to go. Baker had one of the best young offensive coaches in the NFL, Kevin Stefansky. They had an enormously gifted offensive line. PFF had it rated two or three.

Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, you kidding me? Weapons, a football star of city, OBJ. And Baker just never got how great the opportunity was. Cleveland so desperately wanted to love him. I mean, God, they're going to like Deshaun Watson, and he's not likable at all. Baker was too busy calling out the medical staff distracted by a dozen commercials, albeit funny ones, not getting along with OBJ, all in the sake of appealing to his worst sensibilities. Ego.

I do it my own way. So does Lamar. He keeps it to himself. Nobody hates Baker. Nobody does. They're disappointed. because how many quarterbacks would want Nick Chubb, David and Joku, Kevin Stofansky, Miles Garrett, that offensive line,

in a city that absolutely lives for its football team. And you blew it. It's like you entered this esteemed law firm of Chubb, Garrett, and Stafansky, and you didn't even prepare for the case. Nobody hates you. Nobody hates failure. In fact, people felt sort of bad for you. I wasn't one of them, but people did.

And now you're on your fourth team in 13 months. It's not because you lack talent. It's because you lack self-awareness. And an understanding that opportunities that good, that good, that roster, you weren't making any money. That roster was built to win playoff games. Andrew Luck got to an AFC championship and was bail in water in the front office, the offensive line, the defense, the coaching staff. That puppy had everything, and you blew it.

Nobody hates you. They're just disappointed. We like unique, and we like people who do it their own way. You ever heard of Joe Rogan? He sort of does it his own way. People like it. It's one of the things that's cool about America. There's a lot of different ways to succeed.

Doing it your own way is one of them that's really popular. right Eric Mangini now joins us live he is based right now in Cleveland Ohio of all the places he picked Cleveland he loves Cleveland he's a Cleveland man through and through there's no reason to make Cleveland jokes it's a fine city fine city Colin you started off with a little parenting advice they don't hate you they're just disappointed that is that is the classic parenting line and then very good I was taking notes it was great stuff well I appreciate that so I will say he's not as likable, but I keep reading all these NFL preview magazines. Everybody loves Cleveland.

You're there. You get to see it. Am I nuts here? Are they a potentially AFC championship level team? Yeah, they're underrated. And here's why. Deshaun Watson has benefited from the attention that Aaron Rogers has gotten, the attention that Russell Wilson has gotten.

Everybody forgets that he was an old. elite quarterback. And a few years ago, he was throwing 33 touchdowns and seven picks. He had 112 quarterback rating. And the difference between him and those other guys is he's 28 years old. He's in the prime of his career. Now, he's moved a year away from all the offseason problems. He's got six games in the system. He's got a full offseason with the team. There's so many things that are pointing in the direction of him being able to get back to that form that he was in. And now the Browns added a veteran defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, who I like a lot.

They've still got the great offensive line, great offensive line coach. And they've got so many pluses going for him. And they're somewhat under the radar compared to a lot of teams we talk about. So I know it's not everything, but because starters don't play. first of all, pre-season's a game shorter. Fewer starters are playing since McVeigh decided to not play anybody and it worked. So practice feels like to me, especially inter-squad practices, feel like a bigger deal today. One versus ones don't, you don't get a lot of that in practice.

And I think I talked to a couple coaches about this. Like practice now is a little bit bigger deal. So when Dax's out there throwing bad picks off last year, it feels like something. He's not a rookie. and I saw the footage of them and Eric some are bad some are like staring people down what do you make of it I don't love it I don't love it I don't think that you can just turn things on and off and even though you stand up in front of the media and say I'm not going to throw interceptions like I threw last year I didn't love the way he even answered that question where he kind of threw the receivers under the bus or he said this year the receivers will be in the right spots it wasn't even like he took full accountability for for the the picks that he did throw last year, and that's not a good thing. I don't like the way the

DBs respond to him when he throws a pick. It almost feels, it doesn't feel like just trash talk. It felt more disrespectful than that. So that's not the most encouraging thing in the world either. And we can say that practice isn't important, but it is. And if you're consistently making those mistakes in practice, odds are you're going to make him the game. And as much as you want to talk about the improvements you've made, you need to show those improvements on a consistent basis. So we said this at the top of end of last hour, is that when you've got a young quarterback, I think you can identify pretty quickly the wow factor, Herbert, Lamar, Mahomes. I don't think it would have taken you long to go, okay, this is just different, right?

I'm watching Lamar. I went back this morning. I got up really, really early. and I got up this morning and I went back and watched his rookie year highlights. He was so fast. It didn't even look. It was like he was speeding up the video when he was flying past linebackers and corners. So the wow is pretty obvious. So if you don't have wow, the question becomes, how does the grading scale go? So Daniel Jones number, our staff did a good job.

They put it on the screen. And he completed like 67% of his throws, passer rating low 90s. Didn't throw a lot of touch. but he didn't make any mistakes. And I said on the air, I think if you give me that, I probably keep him. He's not losing games. You tell me if Jordan Love gave you the Daniel Jones numbers, 15 touchdown passes in 23 is half of what I want.

Do you just say he's not losing me games? Well, my experience with Tom Brady is his first year, there was no wow. if anything, it was the opposite. It wasn't very good at all, and he didn't have to play. And then when he gets the opportunity to play, it was okay. It was okay. And he consistently got better. So guys can improve that position.

And I've seen it and witnessed it firsthand. Now, the difference is with Jordan Love, he's been there. He's been in the system. He's had the time to sit and watch. The expectation there is much. is much higher. Tom was a six-round draft pick. Jordan was a first-round draft pick.

You've got $40 million in dead money for Aaron Rogers. And you've given up so much to create this opportunity for him. The expectations are a little bit different. Now, if the ceiling that you get this year is he doesn't get you beat, okay, you're banking on the fact that next year it's going to pop and now he's going to be able to start winning games. but the equation is different because how long he's been there and how much they've given up and how much more experience he has

than young guys just get thrown into the fire. Yeah, and there's no chaos there, so it's a well-run organization. So I watched the story of, and I've said this, the only thing I worry about with Aaron, it's not the media, it's not Sala, it's the O line. He's going to be 40 in December. Old quarterbacks don't like to get hit. They don't know what their tackle situation.

is if Dwayne Brown doesn't give you 17 games and plays 12, this could be a mess on the edges. By the way, Buffalo twice, Patriot. Patriots were third in sacks. Bill's pass rush. They play the Eagles, Denver, the Chargers, Browns. There's a lot of pass rushes. They play Kansas City, Chris Jones.

So my question is, when you look at the jet situation, you had Favre, he was an older quarterback. And Farv's early career, he was run around Brett Farve, the gunsling or the ad liber. But when you got him and contrast that or compare it to Aaron, did Farv not want to get hit as much? Did you notice, like, as an old quarterback coming to the Jets, how did he look at O-line play, getting hit, ad-libbing? Well, we had a really good offensive line. Yes, you had to Brickshaw. We had DeBershaw-Forgson.

We had Nick Mangold, who was excellent. We brought in Alan Fannica. We had Damien Woody. We had a really, really good offensive line when he got there. And the Jets are taking some hits on their offensive line. I understand that. But it's not like they haven't put resources into it. Two of the offensive linemen are among their top five highest paid players right now

with Dwayne, Brown, Lakin, Tomlinson. Then they drafted two guys number one, or in the first round. And they've drafted a second rounder. So they put resources in it. It just hasn't been very productive because of injuries, continuity, all those things. Now, the good news for them, too, is people are going to play Aaron Rogers differently. The Jets should be able to run the ball effectively because of how many seven-man boxes that they're going to get. Breast Hall is good.

That should take some pressure off of Aaron as well. And Aaron's smart. Aaron's going to get the ball out quickly. He's not going to take the hits that some younger guys would take. could kill him, Colin, is when the whole world knows you have to pass. In those two-minute situations, if you've got to go no huddle because you're down by a lot, that's where you can really get exposed. If they can manage the games, then the exposure is much smaller. Yeah. So I, tonight, Denver plays. Sean Payton has said,

we want to give him some reps. So speaking to O-line, the first thing Peyton did, Mike McGlinchie, Ben Powers, they upgraded the O-line, they get their left tackle back. So I I think Denver's O-line will be the most improved part of the team beyond the coach. What's realistic for Russell? He's lost a little weight. I just want to see him move more because, you know, it's funny last year. I have this theory on him, is that he got the big contract and he thought to himself, hey, I'm not going to be a run-around guy like these young guys.

I'm a veteran now. I got the bag. I want to sit in the pocket and show I can do this. And it's like, dude, you got to lean into your fastball. You're a mover. That was my takeaway on it. So what do you want to see? What do you expect to see?

Colin, there is so much truth of what you're saying. And the old ad is you see a lot of good young running quarterbacks, but not a lot of good old ones because of how much they get hit. And when guys get paid a ton of money, they want to see that contract through it and make sure they earn every dollar. And they're not doing that when they're running around a ton. But you're absolutely right, too, about the fact that his greatest asset, wasn't always scrambling, it was his ability to bide time.

Yeah. The way that he could make defensive alignment miss and extend plays, he has to lean back into that or else he's not going to be the guy who wasn't, and teams aren't going to treat him the same. He's going to get different type of rush patterns and blitzes. So yeah, at least lean into it early so that everybody now is worried about it and game planning for it. And then you can pull back some.

My fear there, column, too, is how quickly he picks up the system. It's a lot of shifting, motioning, multiple personnel groups. It's very different than what he's dealt with in the past. And it's going to be interesting to see where that landing spot is between, as Sean said, his greatest hits and the things that Sean wants to do with the offense he brought in. So you were the Niner defensive coordinator and the Patriot defensive coordinator. and the one thing Belichick does, and I think they do it, and you were part of this, and you couldn't explain it as well as anybody. I didn't care much about C.J. Stroud last night. What I noticed was, even with their backups, they just create constant pressure and chaos.

It's just bills. I mean, I don't think they have the third best defensive line talent. They were third in the league in sacks. And they're always near the top in pressures and hits, even if they don't get sacks. And I watched it last night. Ball snapped, 1001, the O line, unrued. travels. What is the secret sauce to Bill in that pass rush? Because I don't always think they have the best personnel. Yeah, well, the first thing we always try to do is take away what they did best and make sure that they play left-handed. And then the second thing is you're going to identify the greatest weaknesses and make sure that you attack it. And that seems very simplistic, but not everybody has the defensive flexibility to do that. Most teams, they have their scheme, They have things in their scheme that they can use to attack.

But in New England, because we had smart players, because we built versatility into everything that we did, and we are so intensely game plan specific, we can exploit other team's weaknesses. We could do that. And we could really effectively take away their strength. So quarterbacks are sitting back there not getting the normal answers that they get. But it takes time and it takes the right type of guys in the room to execute that stuff. Yeah. So so much of a quarterback room, if you've got a star quarterback, it's actually, not only is it easier because you have a star, but it's easier because everybody in the room knows

he's quarterback one, right? It real clarifies the room. But when you got Brock Purdy, Trey Lance was a number one pick, you bring in Sam Darnold, it's a little bit of a balancing act. They're all a little insecure. Two are coming off injuries. One may. get traded, Darnold's a Reclamation Project. How would you balance, because this is a loaded roster. I mean, there's nothing in their way outside of quarterback. How do you balance all this stuff? It's actually easier in the situation that San Francisco's in now than it was when Jimmy was there.

I would imagine it would have been much more awkward when Jimmy was there and you draft Tray Lance. And not only do you draft Tray Lance, but you trade everything away. way that you did to go get Tray Lance. That's an incredibly awkward situation. And Jimmy's extremely well-liked, very popular in the locker room. With the three guys that are there now, they're all unproven in their own way. They all have warts in their own way, and they all have really positive things that you can cheer for. But from a staff perspective and from a team perspective, you can be a lot more objective than if you've got a guy you really like who's done a lot of good

things and suddenly you got this young guy that hasn't proven anything and the team wants to thrust them into a starting role. Yeah. All right. Eric Mangini, great seeing you as always. Enjoy Cleveland. How's the weather in Cleveland late summer? How is it?

Actually, this is one of the best times of year in Cleveland. It's beautiful. It's cooling off a little bit, but still very nice. It gets dark late. So when you come to visit, this would be the time of year that you should come visit me, Tom. And I know that's on your to-do list. It is. I have to do a couple things in Manhattan Beach this late summer,

or else I'd scamper over there. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll be waiting. All right. Good to seeing you, coach. Yeah, I'm so excited for the night. It's ridiculous. Even last night, it was after the C.J.

Stroud interception. I was like, all right, I got to see some backups. And I saw Malik Cunningham. He was a Louisville quarterback. New England got him, and he's fun. But I, you know, I look at New Orleans. England. I was texting a buddy who's a Patriot insider last night, and I'm like, man, Malik Cunningham's their most interesting offensive player. He's a third-string quarterback. He's

probably never going to play. That's the guy I'd want to see on the field. He reminds me a little bit of a poor man's Lamar Jackson. He's not Lamar Jackson, but kind of thin moves around a lot, defensively. You know, you've got to make choices on him. I don't know if he plays, but Bailey, Zappy, and Malik Cunningham. Keep your eyes peeled for that. Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. 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 document. recommended 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, Cliver 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 Podcasts, 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 said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do about it? little Kim, well you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. 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 on day, but just so you 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 for finishing that sentence. 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. Here is Ryan with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. The Jets and Panthers held joint practice this week.

Aaron Rogers was pressured often during the scrimmages, which led to lots of frustration from the veteran QB. Robert Sala was asked about his concerns for the offensive lines' struggles, and here's what he had to say. You know, my optimistic side will say, we've got time. There's still, Dwayne's coming back. There's still a lot of pieces. We've got some cards in our back pocket that we can use.

But yeah, as a coach, you want it done yesterday. We want these guys rolling. We want confidence. We want to start humming. But I also understand all the different moving parts and verbiage and new scheme. And, you know, Keith has a different style to the way he coaches and his technique. So there's a learning curve. Yeah, I think a lot of it comes down to Duane Brown.

If Duane Brown's upright and healthy at left tackle, they'll be fine. Because Elijah Vera Tucker is really good. I think the interior of their all lines fine. It can't have as many. It's almost like the Rams. It can't get that beat up again this year. That was just like an outlier injury year. Jets and the Rams O-Lines.

So their O-line interior, Vera Tucker is a borderline pro-Boulder, I think, this year. It's just you've got to get tackle right. And in this league, you've got to get left tackle right. If you don't think it matters, Andrew Whitworth leaves the Rams. Super Bowl to disaster. If Andrew Whitworth plays last year, Stafford probably doesn't get hurt. It's a totally different team. Right.

And Chiefs, the year they lost in the Super Bowl is another great example of that. Yeah. They just, they went from a team. that looked like an unstoppable offense, too, couldn't move the ball against Tampa Bay, and it was the worst game of Patrick Mahomes' career. Fisher and Mitchell Swartz. Yeah. I mean, it's one thing to have a right tackle.

When Brady went to Tampa, what was the one thing they were concerned about? Because they had Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, Donovan Smith. Their first pick was, we got to figure out right tackle for Tom. Older quarterbacks, it matters. So the Jets have got to cross your fingers on Dwayne Brown because Dwayne's older, but he's a really good left tackle. Anthony Richardson is set to start the Colts preseason opener against the Bills tomorrow.

The fourth overall pick has garnered a lot of praise and positivity in camp despite his limited playing time in college. Richardson and the first team offense are expected to play the entire first quarter and the quarterback is ready for the opportunity. Get to go out there and showcase what I'm able to do with the ones a little bit. And the first NFL experience, you know, I'm excited for it. But, you know, same rodeo, you know, just get to play ball again. I think I'm taking a big step, you know, regarding everything,

whether it's chemistry, you know, play calling, or even just recognition of the defense. And I feel like I've grown a lot. But, you know, still room for improvement. And hopefully I can just keep on pushing. I know I can run. I know I can pass, you know, so whatever coach calls, I'm trying to make sure I do my job the right way and just be consistent with it all. Listen, when Cam Newton was running around dominating the SEC and then came to the NFL and did the same, the one thing I will say is, in the best college conference with the most NFL bodies, Anthony Richardson was running past him and over him and making him miss.

So he is a really unique athlete. This isn't a guy running around in a second-tier conference. No, this is a guy in the best football conference with easily the best defensive players, and he is running past him. So there's a lot here to work with. I think it's going to be incredibly raw, but he's got the right coach. I think they have a very good offensive line coming back and healthy. Can't wait to watch. I think it's going to be a little Cam, a little Big Ben, a little Josh Allen.

It's going to be some ugly drop back, you know, third in nine, third and 12, and you've got to throw. It's not going to be pretty. But he's got a good old line, good coach, and that dude is going to run past him. people. Yeah. And to your point that you've said previously about Anthony Richardson is he has a big frame and a big build. So this isn't like a Kyler Murray situation. Right. Lamar Jackson where we have questions if they're going to hold up or will that work at the NFL level. I think we know that he's going to be able to hold the zone at least through the first several weeks while he tries to catch up to the speed of the game. Yeah. And the bears are set to take on the Titans tomorrow

in their preseason opener, despite most teams sitting out there starting quarterback Chicago, start Justin Fields. Offensive coordinator, Luke Getzzi, was asked about the rationale behind starting fields and the rest of the first team offense. Here's what he had to say. Yeah, I think it just kind of falls back into the chemistry thing, right? Getting that group kind of for the first time and having that experience for the first time. I mean, we just talked about Darnel just to put them in a uniform, get up, hear the cadence, hear the huddle call, hear cadence. All that stuff is invaluable. So let's go get a crack at it. and it'll be good to just kind of get things started off the right way.

No more finger pointing. Receivers good enough. Tight end's good enough. Running game good enough. Same offensive coordinator and system. And the O-line's not a mess. It's fine. They got a left tackle and I think a right tackle.

No more excuses. Go out and win games. Because they did a, their GM, their young GM from the Chiefs, they built a nice offense. There's no reason you can't win with that offense. I saw last year Jared Goff with pretty good offensive personnel put up huge numbers, especially at home. So I think that Green Bay Chicago Week 1 game, that is one of the best games on the board. Fascinating.

Neither was a playoff team. Fields is the better athlete than Jordan Love, but I can't wait to watch it. Listen, Jordan Love, Justin Fields is an easy guy to root for. Because if he can figure out the passing, I get that and that running, he's a spectacular athlete. So, like, the NFL, it's fun when you get dynamic quarterbacks. Jalen Hertz, Josh Allen. It makes the league more fun on Sunday. So last 11 starts, here's the good news.

And his last 11 starts, you did see an elevation of his completion percentage. That's very promising. And now you've added DJ Moore and tied-in Robert Tonian and all that young line probably now upgrades a little. So if you told me this year he completes 63.5% of his throws, that's all I need to know. Then I'm good. Because I don't need 66 with him. I don't need Kirk Cousins.

If you can run like that and get to that 62 and a half, 63, we're good. It just can't land at 57. And I think two points for the Bears. As you pointed out, their GM, Ryan Poles, did not draft Justin Fields. So this is a maker break season to where they'll be. be ready to move on, especially if the season goes south like it did last year losing 10 games in a row. They'll absolutely be at the top of the draft

and ready to take another quarterback. And I have no problem with them giving him reps in the preseason. He actually needs them. I think it's the right call. So whether or not he's a starter. If you look at his last 11 starts and some of the ascension in key categories and then the elevation of

tight end wide receiver. I mean, I'm showing this to the TV audience. First 14 starts, there are the numbers. Last 11 would Luke get to the OC? If you look at that with the addition of just DJ Moore and Robert Tanya and that young O line returns, it feels like, that's why I keep saying, I feel like it's going to work. I don't need him to be great in the pocket. I never, I never thought was great in the pocket. He had one great year. Cam was okay in the pocket, serviceable. He was amazing out of it. And Lamar Jackson, I think,

better in the pocket than people want to admit and great out of it. So get me to 63% completion percentage this year. We're good. You're probably a playoff team. There you go. Ryan with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. The CJ Stroud thing is interesting. So he didn't, you know, get a lot of chances last night. But it should be noted. PFF, Pro Football Focus, ranks the Texans offensive line at 25th.

It's bad. and they had three backups last night. He's got a rookie defensive coach, a rookie offensive coordinator, a bad old line. And the other thing that C.J. Stroud has to deal with, which is he's not a highlight real quarterback. He's not Justin Fields or Josh Allen or Steve Young. That's not what he is. He's a pocket guy. So he's got to be good from the pocket.

I need C.J. Stroud to eventually complete 67.5% of his throws. He's not a runaround guy. He's more – Jared Goff is the comp NFL draft expert said it's a very good comp. About that size, throws a nice ball, complete, good guy, not cocky, self-aware, it should work. But what's interesting about him is Ohio State quarterback. He had great numbers at Ohio State. All their quarterbacks do. Even the ones that transition to like a wide receiver or guys that don't make the NFL.

The reality is, it is such a factory there that his college coach was an elite offensive coach. His offensive line, three draftable guys. His running backs both consider elite. his receivers better than his Texans receivers. So there's a little bit of a whiplash here. His college personnel and coaching may very well be better than his NFL talent facing much better defenses, especially last night with Belichick. So I think it's going to work.

It's a very rare situation where, you know, at Ohio State, you're the captain of a yacht on a perfectly sunny Saturday morning. The Texans right now, it is a rowboat. You're bailing water. it's a lightning storm and crows and seagulls are circling. So this is not easy. This could be a really, really bumpy first year. This is not doing drag routes to Marvin Harrison Jr.

And he takes it to the house. This is hard. This is really hard stuff. So Albert Breer yesterday on this exact point in why he could struggle a little bit early. This might actually be the rare case where the talent he's got a receiver around him is a step down from what he was in college. You know, it's sort of similar to Mac Jones. You know, when Mac Jones, I think when he came to New England was going to have to adjust to not having the same level of talent around him at receiver.

I think the one thing that does help, Ohio State does have some elements of the Shanahan offense built into what Ryan Day does there. So I think getting into a game situation might not be the shock to the system that it is for some other rookies because C.J. Stroud operationally, at least, has done a lot of the things that he's being asked to do in Houston when he was in college. Yeah, so we'll see. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific.

Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Listen to comeback stories. I'm Darren Waller. You may know me best as a tied-in for the New York Giants. You may also know me for my story of overcoming addiction and alcoholism. You may have heard a few of my tracks as an artist or a producer. You may have seen the work that I've done through my foundation. And you may know my friend and co-hosts Donnie Starkins as well.

He's a mindfulness teacher, a yoga instructor, a life coach, a man fully invested in seeing people reach their fullest potential. And we've come to form this platform of comeback stories to really help. highlight not only our own adversity, but adversity in the lives of well-known guests with amazing stories. Catch us every week on comeback stories on the IHeart 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, 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from Bats, 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 Podcasts, 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 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 kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. 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 on day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed cracks. 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 podcasts. A little prediction time. It's time for another edition of Buy, Sell, or Hold. Time to buy. Sell. Colin will decide if he'll buy it. Sell.

Watch it to sell. Or hold. All right. Here we go. Ryan, ready to go? All right, let's do this. Buy. Sell, hold of last year's

AFC division winners. The bills are the least likely to repeat. Sell, sell. They're favored to win their division. They've won the AFC East in three seasons. And I did think the weakest part of their team last year, they were 31st in tight-end receiving yards.

And they went out and drivers. drafted, moved up to get Dalton Kincaid, who was viewed as the best tight end in the draft along now with Dawson Knox. There's a little drama regarding Stefan Diggs, but Josh Allen is still instant offense. McDermott generally does a very good job on the defensive side. Great support at home, hard to win on the road in that weather. Big quarterback strong arm built to win in that weather at home. We don't know about Tua.

We don't know about the punchless New England offense. think the bills probably win their division. By sell hold of last year's NFC division winners, the bucks are the least likely to repeat. That is a buy. I mean, they were last year 8 and 9 with Tom Brady. I think they'll pull back with Baker or Kyle Trask. Also, these young quarterbacks have a defensive coach

and Todd Bowles that is 34 and 50 as a head coach. Elsewhere, you got a Derek Carr in the division. You got Frank Reich and Bryce. young in the division. You got offensive coaches or Derek Carr in the division, so I think it's reasonable assumed they'll be the worst offense, despite some nice targets in the NFC South. By sell hold, Sequin Barkley and the Giants win at least nine games. Hold. I know everybody thinks they'll be terrible, but they did add Darren Waller at tight end, who's really good, and Brian Daibble is exceptional. And, you know, they did try to

address some of their offensive weaknesses, and I still love their defense. So I do think they're going to be in the eight category. My guess is it's eight wins, not nine, but I have so much trust in Brian Daibol. Also, by the way, there is a possibility that Daniel Jones gets a little better in year two with Brian Daibol. That's possible. So it's a hold gut feeling they're an eight-win team, not a nine, though. By seller hold, the Titans make the playoffs after the acquisition of DeAndre Hopkins. In the NFC, they would. AFC, it's a hold, leaning no, but it is a contract here for Ryan Tannahill. Okay, so he's going to play great. The other thing about Tannahill, that it's hard to wrap your brain around. Do you know what his passerating is since he joined the

Titans in the better AFC? Over 100. Like, I know you don't like Tannahill, but he's 36 and 19 with a very good defense, and they have made the playoffs three or four years. They are not Jacksonville offensively. And my guess is that Houston and the Colts are a little better than people think. Houston almost beat the Chiefs last year. The Colts did. So my guess is probably not. By Sell or hold, the Super Bowl winner will come out of the AFC West.

I'm going to sell. Sell, sell, sell. There has not been a back-to-back Super Bowl winner since the Patriots in the early 2000s. I think the Chargers are absolutely going to be better with Kellynne Moore. I think the Broncos are absolutely going to be better with Sean Payton. So that probably means you don't get home field advantage in that number one seed. The Chief's schedule is not easy. I even think the Raiders early if Garoppolo is upright will be a tough out.

So I just think it's hard to repeat as good as Mahomes is. They don't have a great defense right now. The Chris Jones situation is a little dicey. I'm going to say no, the Chiefs don't win it. By seller hold, the three California teams will have a better record than the Florida teams. It's a hold because I don't know about Tua. I think Miami's going to be really good, and we know the Jags are, if Tua is upright, then my guess is that's true.

But I will say the Chargers have upgraded it receiver and offensive coordinator, so it's a go-either-way proposition. Two is healthy. My guess is the Jags and the dolphins are both exceptional. buy seller hold the Jets will have a better record than the bills let's sell that okay the bills have a better roster the bills have a veteran winning coach the bills have made the playoffs Jets haven't made the playoffs since 2010. They got the hard knocks thing, the O-line thing, the new coach, new system thing,

and the Robert Sala on the hot seat and impulsive ownership. So I know it's a really easy sell. The two easiest cells in the league are Buffalo look really bad against Cincinnati. They got a lot of good players. And the other one is, well, Minnesota's not going to win all those close games. Yeah, but they may win a lot of them because they have some really high-functioning offensive people in the building. Buffalo is going to be pretty good. By seller hold, the Packers will finish over 500

this season. I'm going to sell on that. First of all, the lions are going to be better. I really like what they do in the executive offices these days. The Bears should absolutely be more viable offensively. And again, Jordan Love, what do I know? Aaron Rogers was 8 and 9 with this roster. It's reasonable to think Jordan Love is going to go 6 and 11. Their schedule's not easy.

Bears and Lions are better, and I know the Vikings won't go 11 and O'N. Close games, but they're not going Owen 11 or 2 and 9. Kevin O'Connell, Kirk Cousins, decent O'Line weapons. Vikings will be good. By Seller Hold, Anthony Richardson will have more wins than C.J. Stroud this season. Hold, I think they both win about six games. Remember, the Colts won more games than Texans last season. The Colts have a better infrastructure, but Anthony Richardson's very raw. Also, the Colts have an offensive coach. The Texans who I like have a defensive coach. So I think

these guys both win about six games. I think the Colts will be fascinating to watch because of Richardson's talent. I think the Texans will be more boring, more predictable, and a lot of it is based on their health keeping Stroud upright because that Texans' old line

is bad. The Colts old line is good. Buy seller hold Jacksonville Jaguars will finish with the best record in the NFL. I'm a buyer on that. schedules workable. Trevor Lawrence should only be better in year two with Doug Peterson. Calvin Ridley is going to have 100 catches. There's a lot to like about this team.

Remember last year, they were bumpy early. They came off the urban stuff, and they were bumpy early. They were exceptional late. So my takeaway, it's like a college football team that wins a bowl game, like they go into the offseason and they're ascending the confidence. I think Jacksonville, the best is yet to come. And if you watch them play last year, they're not Kansas City yet. They don't know how to manipulate a game to win it.

But boy, all they're missing now is game reps in big, crucial games, because they got a lot of dudes. Last one, by Sell or Hold, all of last year's AFC Wildcard teams, the Chargers, Ravens, and Dolphins will miss the playoffs this season. Sell, sell, sell! I think they could all be better. Vic Fangio, defensive coordinator plus Jalen Ramsey, I think the Dolphins will be better defensively and therefore better.

Lamar Jackson's got the best weapons easily he's ever had on the perimeter. And I think Kellynne Moore and receiver Quentin Johnston, I think the Chargers are going to be better. So I think the Ravens are better than last year, the Dolphins are better than last year, and the Chargers are better than last year. I do think as the league has become more quarterback dominant and quarterback-centric, the AFC has so many great quarterbacks, it's a fairly easy conference to predict. NFC, I could go over seven. I don't think so in the AFC. 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. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, 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.