The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Week 17 Blazin' 5, Giants Can Swap Jaxson Dart for Fernando Mendoza

Episode Date: December 26, 2025

Colin gives us his Blazin' 5 for Week 17 in the NFL. Later, FOX Sports NFL analyst Eric Mangini joins the show to weigh in on Denver's progression under Sean Payton and Bo Nix, Lamar Jackson's future in Baltimore. Colin ponders if the New York Giants should move off freewheeling quarterback Jaxson Dart and draft Indiana's Fernando Mendoza.See 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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. To Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in. We are live. It is a Friday, the day after Christmas. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for Megan House, part of your day. It did sound last night on the broadcast like it's Travis Kelsey's last year. He was productive. But, you know, you can see when you watch Kansas City. You know, this is what happens to dynasties. The old guys look really old. And it's just sort of a sad trombone and start losing all those

close games instead of winning them. And that's okay. I mean, it's better to have been in a dynasty and faded away than to never have been in a dynasty. That sounds almost political. All right, blazing 5, 60% for the year. Feel very, very good about it. This week, I didn't do this all year. Four underdogs.

I don't even know why. Underdogs yesterday did well. Here we go. That's a hot one. Let's blaze it up. It's Collins, Blazoned Fy. Texans and Chargers. I like the Texans plus two and a half, seven-game winning streak.

They clinch a playoff berth with a win. Their only loss by more than three points, one against Seattle. That's it. Well, Seattle beats up in a lot of people. Woody Marks is back. Huge part of their offense. The Chargers 18th in the NFL on offense since week 11, because their offensive line is using backups.

Three of the Chargers, four wins during their four-game winning streak have come against the Raiders, Chiefs, and Cowboys. The Texans defense is so good. Even on the road, it's dominating. Number one in the league, I'm taking the points. Texans, 23, Chargers, 21. Take the points. Seahawks at Panthers.

I wish it was seven and a half, but I'll take it at seven. Panthers at home fighting to win the NFC. South. One game lead over Tampa, I'm taking the points. Anybody noticing Bryce Young in the last month? Last three games, he's a pro bowler. Six touchdowns, no picks. He's been on fire in the last three games. The Seahawks are coming off a tough physical overtime game. Season high, 92 defensive snaps against the Rams. The last two games they won both at home by a combined three points. The offense for Seattle doesn't quite feel right. The season. is a long trip.

They could be looking ahead to the playoffs. Oh, he's beat the Rams. We're amazing. Seattle wins. I'm absolutely taking the points here. 27, 23 Hawks. Eagles and Bills.

I'm in the minority. I like Philly plus two and a half. Great run team, bad run defense. They're 35 and 2 when they win the turnover battle under Nick Sariani, 7 and 0 this year, and they usually do. Jalen Hurts the last two. weeks, something is working. Even Greg Kossel told us.

Sequin Barclay last three games, averaging five and a half a carry. The O line now getting healthy. Folks, the bills have trailed in each of their last eight games. They've trailed in the second half of six of their last seven. They play with their food. They're not good on third down. The bills can't defend the run. I'm taking the Eagles and the points, better overall roster, 2824 Philly. Bears at 49ers. I like Chicago with extra rest plus three. DJ Moore and Caleb Williams last five games.

DJ Moore has five touchdown catches tied for most in the league. The offense, you get all the big plays without any other turnovers. Listen, the Niners are hot, but four of their five wins came against Cleveland, Arizona, the Titans, and the Colts. Brock Purdy trailing this year is a different quarterback. 63% completion percentage. And their defense, here's the story of the game. The Niners defense, not only has the fewest sacks in the NFL,

seven fewer than the next fewest, and opposing quarterbacks. Have a passer rating of 101 against the Niners. Christian McCaffrey just came off a 27-touch game. The Niners are 0-and-4 off McCaffrey games where he's got 27. or more touches. Bears win it, take the points, 2827. Cardinals at Bengals. I like the over 53 and a half. 29 ranked scoring defense against the worst ranked defense.

Banged up defenses that are bad to begin with. The weather, it's going to be a little wet, temperature not a factor. The Cardinals defense is bad and it's gotten worse, allowed 40 plus points in two of their last three games. The Bengals, they're averaging 27 a game with Burrough. So you're talking about atrocious defenses, banged up. I like Cincinnati to win the game. I think it's a bit of a shootout. I'm going to take the over Cincinnati, Arizona, over 53.5 points.

3027, Bengals win. So a lot of underdogs have not done that once this year. Four underdogs and one over. J-Max picks in about an hour of 45. There you go. Eric Mangini, former NFL coach, Browns, Jets. Fox Sports is now joining us. You know, it's interesting.

You know this. You can't get too caught up in style points. Denver goes to, you could be Travis Kelsey's last game, emotional. It's a division rival. You go on the road. You win by a touchdown. And all I hear is, I don't know, I don't trust Denver. I'm like, guys, there are 13.

three. Bo Nix keeps making Josh Allen has the most fourth quarter touchdowns the last two years. Bo Nix's second. I know it's uneven. But my take is we're spending too much time worried about the stylistic nature of Denver and I just see a 13 and 3

team that makes big plays late. What do you see with Denver? Yeah. Last night, look, it's an emotional game. Travis Kelsey may be retiring. It's an arrowhead that Denver probably had a little bit of a letdown because of a 13-5 point favorites. And

Kansas City doesn't want to get embarrassed by a division arrival on Christmas in front of friends and family. The game was probably destined to be close. And they get penalized. Denver gets penalized for winning late. To me, that's a strength.

That shows character of the team. And it's a little bit like Kansas City when people were dinged them for winning close games. That's a good thing, not a bad thing. And that's going to be a strength. I believe in the playoffs. Their ability to know if we're behind, we can figure out a way to come back because we've

done it so many times this season. So I'm watching the Lions and people say, well, their O-Lions beat up. And I'm like, the Texans and the Chargers O-Lines have been bad all year and they're 21 and 9. Like, yes, this is, you get cluster injuries and I'm not saying it's, I think Sam Leporta is also a huge loss. I'm not denying that. But the Lions don't look like last year. They were bad this year on third down all year when the O-line was healthy. Last year they looked crisp and creative.

Eric, I go on this show every two weeks with Ben Johnson. I'm like, this guy is Kyle Shanahan. This guy's incredible. Like this is so creative and inventive. How much of it's just, well, the O-lines beat up and how much is they lost a great coordinator and they're hard to replace. Yeah, that's underrated as well, Colin. We saw Philly replace both coordinators and win the Super Bowl. So everybody thinks, oh, okay, that's easy to do.

It's not easy to do. It's not easy at all. And this year, Dan Campbell, what, four or five games in the season, I forget exactly what the number is, he replaces the offensiveer as the signal caller. And they play pretty well offensively, but the problem is that takes some of your attention as a head coach off of the rest of the team. And this Lions team was up and down all season. It's win a game, lose a game, through eight games like that. and then they went on the three-game losing streak. I'd say the most disappointing thing for me is,

you have the six turnovers last night. That's terrible. But the week before, having 15 rushing yards, to me, that's inexcusable. It's the third worst, I think, in the last 20 years for the Lions with two really good running backs. And yet, we can say there's injuries on the offensive line. There's not 15 yards only in rushing of injuries on the offensive line.

that part is going to have to be addressed, and you're going to have to try to find some coordinators that really makes sense for you. Defensively, it's the same thing, and they're in the bottom third of every category defensively. So, you know, I was saying about the bills, is I think America, now that Detroit's out, I said the perfect Super Bowl would be Detroit Buffalo,

two franchises that you feel like kind of deserve it. So Detroit's out, here's Buffalo, and I said, okay, Noma Holmes, maybe no Lomar, No, Burrow. Drake may and Bo Nicks are still ascending. They're kids. And then you've got like Trevor Lawrence. He's good, but, you know, they'll probably be better next year.

Herbert's going to get his offensive tackles back next year. I'm like, this is the year. Like, this is the year to win. So what I do wonder about Buffalo if they're going to coach tight. Because, I mean, you know, you know, coach. Sometimes you get breaks. And this is a year that Buffalo's getting. some breaks. Kid quarterbacks, Aaron Rogers is 42, no Lamar. Like I think, I think you got to get

to a conference championship this year. I think that's very realistic. I think that's fair pressure. Do you? Yeah. If anybody said you can enter into the playoffs and there's no Lamar, there's no Patrick Mahomes, there's no Joe Burrow, and it's just Josh Allen, everybody would pick Buffalo to go to the Super Bowl. And it makes sense. And on top of that, Buffalo runs the ball as good as anybody. They're dynamic there. Their Achilles heel could be what keeps the quarterback off the field, and that's being able to stop the run.

And that's what I think a lot of teams, that that'll be the way to beat him, is don't let Josh Allen and that offense on the field have long, time-consuming drives that keeps Josh Allen on the sidelines. But you've got the one remaining superhero left in the AFC. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a deep run and, you know, ideally a Super Bowl run with all those other guys sitting home. Okay, so the Lamar story broke on Christmas Eve, where there's a longstanding Baltimore reporter that says he doesn't take criticism well, you know, video games at night, doesn't want to practice in the morning, fall in asleep at meetings. Now, John Harbaugh comes out, smart thing to do during a season. Hey, A plus plus relationship.

I don't think this longtime reporter made up all of it. So my take was, I had a couple of takes, is he wants to play in Miami, and if you could get, if you could get Baltimore to pay some of the freight, you know, I mean, Denver won, they're still paying Russell Wilson's cap. I think the Jets have two first round picks have shown no ability in recent years to develop a quarterback. It's not a great college quarterback draft. I think they should consider it.

When you look at, let's say you were the Raiders or you are one of the Miami or the Jets. And you read this story. Would you still go after Lamar? Does it scare you from Lamar? No, it doesn't scare me from Lamar. And this has been a long time coming, Colin. This is what seven weeks in a row or eight weeks in a row where he missed the day of practice,

and now he's missing games. It feels like the last time there were contract issues. And I imagine there's something to do with the contract in all of this as well. He's got a really high cap number next year. they're talking about it. So it feels like that's a component of it. And I don't know who leaked out the negative things about Lamar. But obviously it came from inside the building and someone related to the team as opposed to another player.

But if I'm the Ravens, I'm not moving on from Lamar Jackson. What did he do the last time he missed the six games at the end of the season? He was the MVP the next year. And then he could have been the MVP the year after that. And this, I would imagine Lamar next year, if he's motivated and in the right mindset, can be in that same spot. Now, if Baltimore did want to move on from him, if I'm any other team that's been sitting with no quarterback and a lot of the teams you named are in that situation, yeah, you go get Lamar Jackson if you can. If there's any way you can, because he gives you such a better chance to win than some rookie. that you're taking a chance on

or some retread that you're hoping for. So I said this, when you've been bad for a decade, you have to consider everything. So Jackson Dart comes in. He's young. You didn't give up a ton to get him. He was a late first round pick.

And he's in the blue tent constantly. I like him, but the last three starts he's regressed. It could be Kafka. Maybe Day Bulls just more experience and better. Fine. But I don't think he's an A-plus prospect. I think he's a gamer. I think he's confident.

I think he's been fun to watch. Mendoza, even at Cal for two years. And now at Indiana, not Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas. At Cal and Indiana is 68% completion percentage, bigger, much more accurate, a much better prospect. If I'm the Giants, I'm going to sit down and we're going to talk about this for several days. When I suggest that, people push back. I'm like, guys, you've been embarrassing for a decade. Everything's on the table.

You didn't give up much for Jackson Dart. Am I nuts on this? No, not at all. And there's no real tanking in the NFL. That's not a thing. But you've got to think about it this weekend. If you're the owner of the Giants or you're the owner of the Raiders, you've got to think about wanting to lose this game and having the number one pick.

because whether it's Mendoza or Trading Back or Lamar Jackson or any opportunity, have the number one overall pick is pretty powerful. And to your point, yeah, Darts done some good things. He's excited the fan base, but he excited the fan base after he came in for Russell Wilson, who kind of put the fan base to sleep. And so it wasn't a high bar that he had to overcome. but I don't know if he's made a strong enough case saying, yeah, this is our franchise quarterback.

This is the guy that we're going to go and have a chance to compete for a championship for the next 10 years. If you're sitting there with the first overall draft pick, and you think Mendoza's the guy and he's an upgrade, then yeah, you pull the trigger on that and you go and get where you can for a dart. And there'll be a strong market for him. Yeah, that's my take. There'll be an offensive coach out there that's going to go.

Oh, I like that kid. We have way better players than the New York Giants. We'll get that kid out of that mess. So, I mean, you can get stuff for Dart. But I think when you're bad, you have to consider everything. I like Jackson. He's better than I thought. But with Lane Kiffin and better players around him, Mendoza's putting up better numbers.

You know, Cal is like a third-tier program. He's pretty good at Cal. And he was getting his second year at Cal. I mean, he got sacked 45 times he was running for his life. So one more question. as we, you know, I'm in Chicago now, and it's this talk and it's crazy. And I don't think I've talked to you about this. Maybe I have.

But I said, you know, Tom Brady's completion percentage was only 64% without the wiggle. Matt Stafford has always been a guy that, like, you get a lot of big plays. His completion percentage is not Drew Brees level. My take is when you get such explosive plays. Now, Josh Allen this year has a higher completion percentage. They don't throw the ball down the field. They throw to tight ends and backs. Caleb Williams, 58%, is a little low to me.

But if you told me he's a career 60% guy with all this horsepower, I think I can live with it, or do you have certain lines you want to hit from your quarterback? Well, I believe the league average is around, it's either 63 or 64% for most quarterbacks. So when you're getting in the 50s, that's problematic. So I would like to see it come up from that. If we're talking about 60, 601, it's not that far off.

And you have the upside of the big plays. To me, yeah, you can live with that. You may miss some layups, but you're hitting a bunch of three-pointers, and it's helping you win a ton of games. My frustration with Caleb has been the inconsistency. So he works the magic last game after they have a 1% chance to win. They get the on-side kick. which is fantastic. You'd just like to see that through the course of the game.

And this year's been a really good form in the sense they've got the second best rushing offense in the league. So that's helped them significantly. I give Caleb and Johnson a ton of credit for the way that they've cut down on the sacks. To me, that's not just the offensive line. That's a conscientious effort by Caleb, by Ben Johnson, by the group to avoid those negative plays. So that growth to me is incredible from Caleb. I would just like to see some more consistency throughout the course of the game. But he's trending in the right direction.

If I got to live with a little bit lower completion percentage to get those big plays, then, yeah, I'm okay with that. I tell my wife, you know, I'm not good at cleaning the garage. I've got great upside. I'm great in the fourth quarter. I can't fix the tire on the car, but I'm really good in the fourth quarter. okay you make big plays con you make big plays

I do don't throw a lot of picks but you know my completion percentage is pretty long great seeing you Eric great seeing you too Colin yeah I

people are saying oh Josh Allen this year like Josh Allen if he was 63 and a half percent they just don't throw the ball down the field so it's a lot of tight end stuff and they have really good tight ends Knox

Kincaid Hawes the third guy like they have really good tight ends and they can throw to their backs. And they have a good slot receiver. But Buffalo's not throwing the ball down the field and that could end up biting you. Like if you're throwing and Caleb throws the ball, I mean, Roma Dunte can go deep. DJ Moore goes deep.

Their tight end Loveland will go down the scene. Like they have guys that burden is a guy that can go deep. So they are a big play offense. Buffalo's not. The big plays are provided by Josh Allen running around. Colin, let me ask you about something you and Eric just talked about. So the whole Jackson Dart, we could trade him thing. So we're seeing a season where backup quarterbacks are having a play because guys are getting hurt.

Jackson Dart gets hurt a lot. Why not just draft Mendoza, keep DART, and see who wins a starting job? Heck, you don't even know who the coach is going to be. The coach might want a scrambler or he might want a pocket guy. Well, well, but if you bring Mendoza in, good question, you want his old line fortified, you don't want him getting beat up like a cow. So if you trade DART and can get, a two and a four and address your old line to a higher level,

Mendoza doesn't have to take a beating for a year, because it's not a great roster. They have their left tackle, but even he gets hurt a lot of Andrew Thomas. So my take is you move Dundonzo's the better prospect, bigger, more accurate. He just is. I mean, at Cal, he's as accurate as Jackson Dart was with Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss and, like, you know,

Trey Harris and like, I think Trey played, maybe he did, maybe didn't, but like really good Ole Miss offensive players. Lane can recruit offensive dudes, whoever the receivers tight ends backs were. So my take is, and you also, you don't want in New York City a quarterback battle. You do not want that. Maybe it works in Jacksonville.

Not in the biggest media market in the country. It's interesting. The fan base loves Dart. Honestly, they think he is the new, he's like the new Jeremy Lynn. People love him. Yeah, great. The skill sets limited.

We'll see. I don't know what the coach is going to want. Is the GM going to be there? The Giants have a lot. of questions, man. Yeah, they do. That's why I would give up, I would give up, I get picks, I try, you know, with Mendoza and all those draft picks you could accumulate with Jackson Dart, oh, your roster,

a lot of cheap labor. What does that mean? He's fetching multiple picks? Dude, there are eight teams that need a quarterback, and there's one good one coming out of college. What do you want to pay? We're sure Darts a franchise guy. I think he's shown himself to be capable of it.

But if you're a ceiling of Tyrod Taylor. I think he's a Tyraud Taylor. Career backup. Oh, I think Jackson. Back up who's good? Oh, I think Jackson Darts better than Tyra Taylor. Teddy Bridgewater? If Teddy Bridgewater would have stayed healthy,

Teddy Bridgewater would have been a nice franchise quarterback. I like Teddy Bridgewater. I like them too, yeah. Yeah, and I think Jackson Darts a franchise quarterback. Is he a top eight guy? Probably not. No. But I think there's something there.

I mean, I said he, I thought he was a second round pick. So I'm wrong. There's something there. The top eight is rich. I mean, Jared Goff, his ceiling might have been top eight, but then when it matters most, he's like 18 to 20. I mean, it's tough man to be a top eight quarterback. Yeah. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the Iheart radio app.

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Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

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Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. So the six years before Sean Payton got to Denver, you had three head coaches and six losing seasons in a row. In fact, the year before, they were five and 12 and the worst offense in the league. Worst. So what's really impressive about the turnaround because of the Russell Wilson cap hit, and the draft capital you gave up to get Russell, you could not do a total rebuild. You had to take a lot of the guys you already had

and make them better. Four of their six pro bowlers this year just named were already on the team. This was not a total rebuild. Sean Payton didn't have the draft capital or the cap space. That's actually what Mike Vrable can do. Sean couldn't.

He took a guy like Quinn Miners, who was a guard from a small school. who was a guy. He's now arguably the best guard in the league since Sean Payton arrived. He took Zach Allen four years in Arizona. Good player,

no pro bowlers. Now, Zach Allen's a monster. So, again, he was, what's really impressive was, and Jesse Minter and Jim Harbaugh did this in the same division, where they took the 32nd ranked defense with Brandon Staley, made it number one,

with mostly a couple of fifth cornerbacks they drafted, but mostly the same guys. So sometimes you do get, like Mike Frable in New England where you inherit this young quarterback, you've got $275 million, you got draft picks, and you can rebuild it that way. And that doesn't mean it's bad. But you were, that when he took the job, Sean Payton took his job, my take was, I'm not sure this is good. I said it on the air.

You got no cab space. And you don't have draft capital. And they go find a Zach Allen, a Quinn Miners, and, you know, he takes a gamble on Bo Nix, which most of the league thought was overdrafting him. R.J. Harvey, most of the league thought it was overdrafted, and they become incredibly valuable player, both on display last night. Bo Nix and Harvey, both.

Is that 11 touchdowns for the rookie running back? 11? I mean, is it, that could be more. 12. Here's Sean Payton after the win at Arrowhead. And Hartford win. I thought Kansas City did a good job, Andy, and this team. I don't care who comes out of that locker room. This is a team that basically has been at the top of our league for the better part of a century. And so there's a ton of respect we have for what they've been.

able to accomplish. Yeah, it's impressive. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Yeah, I'm about as impressed by the Broncos as I am the Detroit Lions. Let's start with those Lions.

Sorry, I had to. Colin, it was a brutal ending to the Lions season yesterday. I was texting with the Lions fan. We had made a bet on who was going to be better. Detroit or Denver this season. I had Denver, and it was a runaway. I mean victory. The Detroit Lions regressed badly.

Jared Goff was awful. Colin, I got some stats. We'll give you in a minute. But here's Dan Campbell talking about the turnovers yesterday. Anytime he's not able to step into a throw, it's going to be hard for him. You know, that's where he's at his best, obviously, in the pocket. And, you know, if he's not able to at least hit that back foot and step into it, it makes it pretty difficult. Story of that game was six turnovers.

Can't turn the ball over six times and win. in this league. Yeah, among the many problems, not good. Yeah. So, Colin, I like Jared Gough. He's a nice guy. You know, he's building a house near me in the South Bay. Very nice.

Colin, we've got a stat here for you on the most, like, games with three plus turnovers in recent years. You'll never believe who's at the top of this list. Colin, look at this. Tuah, who you, I mean, just berate and deride. and Jared Goff's right there with him. Well, Trevor Lawrence is too, and Trevor's going to... He's had like six coaches.

Come on, give the guy a pass. I mean, Jared Goff is in an offensive machine, and for whatever reason, man, things when they go bad for Goff, they get in his head. And we know the book on Goff doesn't play well in cold weather and get pressure up the middle because he's not mobile. All the elite quarterbacks can get out of the pocket and make throws on the run. Well, not Stafford.

Stafford can't. Stafford doesn't. Stafford, yeah, but he has great protection up the middle, right? They fortified the line. Detroit loses their center, and you could just see it coming, man. Up the middle. Brian Flores repeatedly blitzing up the middle. You can see it on these highlights.

It's as plain, it's clear as day. And I don't, I mean, people want to say, what's the fix for Detroit? Well, they got like four defensive starters. I just looked this up. We're going to be free agents. The defense stinks. By the way, at some point, we've got to mention Aaron Glenn. They lose Aaron Glenn, and the defense is, I mean, I know the injury is on the back end,

but like, I don't know what the quick fix is here. I mean, they got some picks. I think you must invest in the middle of the offensive line, but you've paid the O line. Well, Frank Ragnow retired. So through the years, I've said repeatedly, the most underrated position in this fort is center. Is that they call the audibles.

It's the anchor. If there's a great defensive tackle somewhere in the midst, you have to block him. There's a lot of edge rushers, right, like you can get. So offensive tackle, we know that's important. But center gets over. looked. And I mean, I just, if you want to beat Philadelphia, the Rams have had a problem blocking the interior of the O-line of Philadelphia. They're just as good, if not better, a team. So I think

Frank Ragnow gives you a late retirement, and they've been bailing water since. Then Leporta gets hurt late in the season, along with that and an O-line injury or two, then it snowballs. But it's still, they've been bad on third down all year. That's not just O-line issue. Yeah, by the way, look at the three teams that have cratered, right? Lamar Jackson's offensive line, tried the young guys, crumbling. Patrick Mahomes' offensive line. They whiffed on everybody other than left the kid Simmons who got hurt. Crumbling. Like Jared Goff, center. I mean, you have to spend money on the O line. It's imperative. All right, let's move on to the next story. And that's Nicola Yolkich. For those who stayed up late last night, what a game. Anthony Edwards forces overtime with a crazy

three from the corner, but it was all Yokic. Colin, this stat line is unbelievable. The first 55, 15-15 game in NBA history. I mean, he's putting up wilt-type numbers. Now, what's crazy is they've got a bunch of injuries on Denver. They started a couple guys. I'm like, what's he doing in the starting line? It don't matter. Yokic, 56.16 boards, 15 assists.

22 of 23 on free throws. I'm sorry to the SGA guys out there. Yokic is a, I'm taking Yokic over SGA 10 times out of 10. I'm sorry, guys. Yeah, so am I. Yeah, he's the best player in the world, has been for four years. He is the best player in the world. But he's got one ring.

And part of the reason is, OKC's got better 3&D guys. They've got more athleticism. That's the Lakers issue that you watched last night. They're not athletic. They can't defend. So Denver a couple years ago had a much, I would say, broader, deeper roster. They were a bit more athletic. They moved off guys because of Jamal Murray and Yokic and Gordon's contracts.

But he is absolutely the most skilled center in the history of the league. The only player I can think of, Bill Walton, had the ability to shoot, defend, rebound, pass. Arvita Sabonis, the old version came to the States. But he is the most skilled big ever. I trust him shooting threes, free throws, passing, screening, scoring. It's an unbelievable skill set. Yeah, I'm wondering. You said he's the most skilled center ever.

So the big question, I mean, this is a tough one. I don't know the right answer here. Shaq or Yokic, who you take it? Now I know Shaq won the titles and everything, blah, blah, blah. It was a different error, Colin. And you can make a credible case that, you know, you would take Yokic over Shaq. He could just do so many more things. Well, I would.

I mean, Shaq would be the first to admit he struggled with Akeem. Yeah. Akeem Olajuwon had his way with Shaq because it's footwork. So, and Shaq was a different, it's a different. For an era, you can't compare eras. But I'm just talking the most skilled. I mean, weren't the nuggets down like two starters last night? I mean, it's just like, and they still, they were down three starters.

Yeah. So, listen, I've made the case for Luca. I've trying to push Luca's number one. At some point I'm going to capitulate here. He's just better. Final story, Colin, let's go to the back to the NFL. 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. By the way, quietly, there's chatter, though.

He could return for the NFC championship game. I know it's crazy. He's just putting it out there. Anyway, Warner did a podcast because that's what people do. And he was asked who the toughest quarterback in the NFL is. He said it was Joe Burrow. The toughest quarterback in the NFL, the guy we called Glass Joe. Here's Warner.

He's just a dog. Like he just, for whatever reason, I don't know, his makeup is different than a lot of these guys in this league. I'll let you take it away because you love Burrow. You know him well. I joke he's Glass Joe, but. No, I mean, he's a, he is. I would say on third or fourth down, take out scrambling. I need somebody to make a throw to get a first down, third and fourth down.

He's the best in the league. He is the best third and fourth down thrower. He has had atrocious O lines. I don't think he's ever had an O line in his career ranked above 23rd. And he's had mostly bad defenses. So he can only win one way. he has to win by track me. You know, Fred Warner didn't say Brock Purdy, by the way.

I don't think that means anything. Purdy's not a huge strapping dude. I'll just say this. If you're asking me and nobody asks me, Josh Allen, for me, it's the toughest quarterback in the league. I mean, I don't know that it's close. I like Burrough. Burrough's a different style.

Burroughs a little old school. He'd rather sit in the pocket. If Matt Stafford move better, like Burrow and Stafford, to me, would be the two best pocket quarterbacks in the league. like that i think they're the best two guys in the pocket in the league the difference is burrow can move quite well he's his comp coming out of college to me everybody said brady i said it's it's tony romol he's a way better version of tony rome like he moves around he doesn't make the mistakes he's more

committed but he moves like tony he's slippery but when burrow and stafford are about to get hit you're kind of wincing when josh allen's getting hit you're not you're like he's gonna absorb it the guys uh and adonis yeah uh jac mack with news well that's the news and thanks for stopping The Herd Lie News. In one hour from now, J-MAC has his picks. I took four underdogs this week and the Bengals, Arizona, over. So I like the dogs this week. It is, you get to an interesting part.

You're sitting there watching yesterday, and there's a lot of fight. These teams are fighting Max Brosmer and Minnesota are out playing Detroit. So dogs had a very good Christmas day. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard 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 it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember I think it was on a call about what we should call it 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 For people could call in and say hey Jonas And then I wrote down on my little notepad Hey Jonas and offered it up as a potential title For the podcast

But thanks for remembering that guys listen to hey jonas on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcast just listen we don't care where you hear it another podcast from some s nl late night comedy guy not quite unhumor me with robert smigel and friends me and hilarious guests from bob odenkirk to david letterman help make you funnier this week my guess s n l's mikey day and head writer streeter sidel help an acapella 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 Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast.

network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come

across. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 to 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. Next Friday, Noah Fafita leads 17th-ranked Arizona against SMU in the Trust and Will Holiday Bowl. 730 Eastern 430 Pacific on Fox. So Connor Hughes covers the New York Giants.

There is some discussion. I saw a headline today should Big Blue the Giants trade Jackson Dart and select Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. And I've said for years, I feel very confident in my quarterback selections. Y'all bailed on Darnold. I didn't like Mansell or T. Bo, or Jamarcus, Roussel, James Winston, and a lot of people make these moves. I liked Bo Nicks better than everybody else. I love Drake May. I love Caleb Williams.

You know, I miss. I thought Michael Penix would be better. But I'll tell you, I don't know how you don't consider it. So if you go look at Mendoza, just go look at the numbers, the two years at Cal coupled with Indiana. Now, Indiana now bought good players. But remember, he's a transfer. It's all new people. There is no preseason in college.

You have to learn on the fly and go to classes with limitations on, like, the number of hours. you can practice. So what he's done is really impressive. It's very hard when you just inject yourself into a college program. You got classes. You have limitations on practice. So his numbers at Cal and Indiana combined. And this is not Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, not even USC or LSU. It's not. His numbers look like Andrew Luck to me. Big, much bigger than Jackson Dart, much more accurate than Jackson Dart. And Dart played with better players in college and dart had lane kiffin's offense which is very quarterback friendly so he's bigger you start the clock he's more accurate really really graceful and gracious kid uh just it's a hard very a lot of

humility so i don't know how you don't at least think of it the idea that the new york giants could look at it and think hey we're not even going to think about it the other thing is if you move jackson dart think about this you could get a better quarterback and additional draft picks because there'll be enough desperate teams that'll give you a second rounder maybe a third and a fifth for jackson dart i mean you could leverage that up so the idea that you could get a better quarterback certainly a better quarterback prospect that's not debatable that is not debate he's a better prospect bigger more accurate and additional picks you're not going to consider that if you keep jackson dart good luck hire whoever you're not getting additional picks you're

getting the guy that spends a lot of time in the blue tent. So to me, if you can get a better prospect and more draft capital, that's pretty good. I don't know how you don't think about it. Eric Mangini on should the Giants at least consider it. Darts done some good things. He's excited the fan base, but he excited the fan base after he came in for Russell Wilson, who kind of put the fan base to sleep. and so it wasn't a high bar that he had to overcome,

but I don't know if he's made a strong enough case saying, yeah, this is our franchise quarterback, this is the guy that we're going to go and have a chance to compete for a championship for the next 10 years. Yeah, and last week, when they played the Vikings at home, the New York Giants offensive coach, Mike Kofka, literally made a decision during the week. We don't want him throwing the ball

all. I think he had one completion in the first half. They took the ball out of his hands. That's what they did with J.J. McCarthy at Michigan, that road game that hard ball wasn't on the sidelines. They said, we're just not even going to have him throw. I don't love that. That was one of the big turnoffs for me.

I mean, Mike Havka's like, I don't want him throwing. Yeah, Brian Flores, he's really good coach. You don't want him throwing. What league are we playing here? So, I mean, I think you have to consider all this stuff. And also, you didn't give up a ton for Jackson Dart. I don't have it front of me but he was like the 23rd 24 something like that pick you didn't give up a ton was he 25th 25th

I mean he didn't give up that much for him so the idea that you don't consider it and get out of the emotional boy I love him he's tough he's so tough he's in the blue tent five times I don't love that either I've defended him on that that when you're young and trying to pick up yards and learning NFL defenses I'm going to defend you Drake may ended up in the blue tennis first year and then they got him really good players. Drake May does not end up in the blue tent. He also doesn't have Scataboo, right? And I get, but Giant fans,

you haven't made a lot of really good decisions in the last decade, and you're going to tell me you wouldn't consider it? You have to consider that you could get Mendoza and additional draft picks? And you say, well, who would want Jackson Dart? Go give me the mock draft again. if Dante Moore doesn't leave Oregon,

the Raiders need a quarterback, the Browns may draft one, the Jets need one, the Cardinals need one, I think the Saints think they have one, the Bengals could probably draft one, but that's not their primary need. So there's plenty of teams. And also not in the top 10 picks as Miami. Miami, I think, is just out of the top 10.

Miami could draft a quarterback probably will. they have plenty of takers on Jackson Dart Jackson Dart's got a Miami look trade for Jackson Dart not paying him anything then you can withstand if you're the Miami Dolphins you're like we're in a different conference you know a lot of teams like Jack I mean if I was a Miami Dolphins

and I have two I was like I'll trade up to get Jackson Dart he's not making any money he was late first round so I can withstand to his cap hit if I move to it for a six rounder How about door number three? We trade down. We trade the number one pick and we get a haul.

We start Jackson Darts, see if he's the guy. And if he fails, you know what? Next year, Arch Manning and a bunch of other dudes are coming out. It's going to be a way better class. Sellers is sticking around college. We punt to 2027. All right. For the record, I'd consider that too.

My point is you have to consider Mendoza as a pick. And I think trading down is something. thing that may make a lot of sense. 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. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority black city in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcast. Turn someday into right now with Body by Jake Radio. Nonstop workout music and expert tips 24-7. Hey, head over to iHeart.com. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free right now. Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Remember, stick to the fight. When your hardest hit, it's when things seem worse that you must not quit.

Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free. Have a great day. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are?

I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.