The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Windy City Worries

Episode Date: August 25, 2025

Jason McIntyre wonders if it's time for the Chicago Bears to worry about Caleb Williams, discusses the possibility of the Detroit Lions taking a step back this season, and The Athletic's Mike Jones joins the show.  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 SportsRedia.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Welcome back hour number two here on the herd. A beautiful Monday morning in Los Angeles. It's a bit of a heat wave out here.

Touched 80 over the weekend. We're in the South Bay. Brutal. What are you going to do? Jason Bacatar in for Colin Coward, joined by Rachel Nichols, telling us Brett Farve lawn stories. I love it. She's got a lot of good stuff.

Covered the NFL for more than a decade. There's a lot of good stories buried in there for sure. Goodness. We got Mike Jones of the athletic coming up. This Aaron Rogers stuff I was thinking about on the elevator ride. I'm not going to fire it now. We touched on her earlier. We'll get to Aaron Rogers here shortly.

But I want to start briefly with a team and a player near and dear to Colin Cowherd. And that's Caleb Williams of the Bears. Listen, the preseason has basically all the oxygen has been sucked out by like four guys. Michael Parsons, Shadour Sanders, Caleb Williams definitely leading to charge. Aaron Rogers is distant third or fourth. But this Caleb Williams stuff is just, I don't know what to make of it.

Again, two years ago, the talk was, oh, Caleb, he could be the face of the NFL in four years. We get so freaking excited about these guys for one season of college football, some dynamic throws. Caleb Williams, he was awesome at times for USC. Then he fell into like the backyard quarterback. stuff. And now he gets a good coach and we're expecting greatness. And the last month has been

anything but great from Caleb Williams. And cryptic stuff from Ben Johnson. All right, I'm not going to be out here hammering Caleb Williams again. Last week I mentioned Johnny Mansell and all the sick of fans in Chicago like came after me. Folks, listen to Ben Johnson after their preseason game against the Chiefs. You listen to this. Offensively, first two possessions was really sloppy football that has plugged us in and out of camp so far. It is disappointing to me offensively for sure because I thought that we kind of worked our way out of that. The first quarter was really any indication it's not good enough. So we got to get better in a hurry.

But yeah, we got to make sure that we start faster on offense and on defense. Oh, boy. Now listen, this is his first rodeo as a head coach. O.C. and Detroit behind walk-around guy, Dan Campbell, who we will get to. Interesting story on Campbell later in the show. But is Ben Johnson coming in a little bit hot here? A lot of veiled comments about Caleb. And I don't want to, I don't know Caleb. I've never spoken to him. But I don't want to presume his psyche, but there were some things we saw in. college. Hey, maybe it was a college kid. We didn't exactly react great when things were not going his way.

And I'm going to play a clip for you here about Ben Johnson talking about someone. But before I play it, we're running highlights from their Chiefs game. The very first play was a fumble with Caleb Williams under center. Now it was on the handoff, but still, that's not crisp. That's sloppy. Bro, you're a second year quarterback. Your face of the franchise. Bears fans are like, oh, is you going to throw for 4,000 yards?

Who cares? Can we get the snap and the cadence down? Okay, so here's a quote. Listen to Ben Johnson. I'm not going to tell you the answer until the end, but think about who he's talking about here. I've really been blown away by his approach from the spring to the start of camp to where we are now. He does a tremendous job, knowing what to do, how to do it, and getting it done.

Okay. He's not talking about Caleb Williams. He's gassing up his backup quarterback, as Rachel said first hour. The backup quarterback's always the most popular guy in town. That's Tyson Bejit, whose father was like a proclaimed arm wrestler. And, oh, by the way, Bayesian just got a new deal. Huh? Why are you giving a backup quarterback who, I mean, I'm not of the belief that he's like one of the elite quarterbackups in the league.

But that had to raise some eyebrows in the Caleb Williams camp, no? paying this backup? It's my job. Yeah, we get that. But we want some insurance. That's not a good sign. Now, again, this is all preseason. Maybe the live bullets start firing, and Caleb is unbelievable. But I've got my doubts, folks. I'm not going to lie. All right, let's bring in Mike Jones from the athletic. Covered the NFL for the last 15 years. Worked at the Washington Post. Someone here knows that. Someone here read that newspaper. growing up and someone here worked for that newspaper. Mike, how are you, man? I'm doing well. How are you guys done this morning? You know, I can't complain. It's Monday.

Football's almost here. We're 10 days away from the opener. I do have to ask, though. You know, you do a lot of podcasts. You're going on a lot of TV, radio shows. Are you surprised by the amount of questions about Chador Sanders, a fifth round pick who is fourth on the depth like he's the topic to jour in the NFL. Yeah, I mean, I have written a lot about him, you know, coming out of the draft. And there's been just a huge buzz about the Sanders and him and also his brother as well. And, you know, yeah, I was talking to somebody just this morning and about all the just the scrutiny that is surrounding him and the Browns and the handling of him. And I'm like, you know, when you really think about it, this is a fifth round pick.

Like, we don't really talk about fifth round pick quarterbacks. And yeah, their opportunities are limited. But this isn't a normal fifth round pick. This is a guy that we thought would go a lot higher and whose skill set we're led to believe is, you know, much better than a regular fifth round pick. So, again, the brand, the name, everything has just made this a bigger deal. He is, I'm putting together my list of 25 most intriguing players entering the 2025 season. And I'm not going to, you know, he's probably on that list. Probably. Is he top five?

No, it's interesting. You use a word, Mike. You said brand. A rookie quarterback who was taking in the fifth round has a brand. I'm trying to think, Josh Allen, when he came into the league from Wyoming, what was his brand? Did Patrick Mahomes have one out of Texas Tech? Like, the fact that he has a brand, like great for him, but I don't know that that's actually what you want your quarterback having coming out of college, is it? Well, I mean, this is a new, even, you know, know, a new age, even from when Josh Allen and when Patrick Mahomes were coming out, yeah,

they didn't have brands. You know, there wasn't the whole, there was social media, but not the level that it is now where guys have YouTube channels and NIL deals and all kinds of things like that. You know, this guy's got a Hall of Fame football coach father, you know, and so football player turned football coach as a father. So yeah, there's a whole lot more with here. But I think that the thing that is most important is, does he have a work ethic? You know, yeah, he's got a brand. Does he have a work ethic? Does he have, you know, teachability and all those things, the athleticism, everything it takes to be an NFL player? As long as you have that, then teams don't care if you have a brand. But, you know,

you're talking about Caleb Williams. He certainly, you know, had kind of a brand coming out. And, you know, it's not always about that stuff. It's what you can do on this higher level than what you were in a college. You're right. It is kind of a new era. I think Johnny Mansell probably had a brand. Is that fair to say coming out of A&M? I don't know if it was a good brand. Right. But it was a brand nonetheless. Yeah.

There was a kind of a cult following type of thing about him. You know, I don't think it's quite the whole, you know, is the same level as Shador's. But, yeah, kind of like that. Trevor Lawrence, kind of a, he's in, is he a bust or not? But I don't think he has a brand. He just hasn't been a good quarterback. I mean, he's not in jeopardy of getting bench. but let's spin it forward.

A, do you think the Browns keep Shador? Do you think they, is it possible? I floated the idea of trading him to the Raiders, just getting him off the roster, getting whatever you can't, just take a seventh round pick, they'll take the loss. I don't know, what's your guess for Shador week one? No, I mean, I think that he's on the team.

I'm not saying that he's going to be active in week one, but I think that he's going to be on this team. There are still people in that building who really believe in his potential. and look, if he's not ready, it's okay. They have a really tough stretch of their season here to open the schedule. You would be much more comfortable with Joe Flacco going up against some of those defenses like, you know, in Detroit and Green Bay and Baltimore. Why throw a rookie to the wolves like that?

But there's also questions about the handling of Shador and the developmental plan. And if the Browns are all on the same page on how to get him ready, And so there are questions about that. But I think that, yeah, he's going to be on this team. We'll see what the progress is. I wouldn't be surprised, you know, late this year we wind up seeing him on the field. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

Interesting. Let's go to Aaron Rogers briefly, hopefully only briefly. He kind of was talking on a podcast with D.K. Metcalfe. And D.K. Metcalf floated, hey, maybe you're staying beyond this year. You know, maybe we'll run it back. And Aaron Rogers said, maybe. Mike, what are we to take of Aaron Rogers at this point? I mean, we haven't even got to the Him versus Arthur Smith stuff that's going to bubble up inevitably.

But, like, where are you on Rogers and Pittsburgh? Are they, is he going to make your most intriguing list? Yeah, look, he, he, everything is great right now. I was up there for training camp and La Trobe a couple weeks ago. And, you know, he's talking about loving, like, remembering how to play video games and playing cards, with the guys and connecting and being in this, you know, backed with a stable story franchise, kind of like in Green Bay,

with the head coach he really respects and all that stuff. But there are no bullets are flying yet. And so we'll see what happens when that offensive line struggles to protect him and the run game is just kind of mad. And, you know, can this defense provide the backing it needs? It seems like they've added pieces like Jalen Ramsey and Slay and they, you know,

retain T.J. Watt and extended him. but still there are a lot of questions here. And so I even wrote about that like, hey, the feel good vibes are good, but that's going to take way more than that. And it's more to do what's around Aaron Rogers that's going to say how successful this is. And just like you said, we saw it in New York. Everything was great.

And then when things started getting hairy, there was finger pointing. And Rogers is not afraid to pull back the curtain and call out dysfunction. And so we could see that happen in Pittsburgh. Yes, we think of them as really stable under Mike Tomlin. you know, nose losing seasons. But if this thing is not playing out really well, we could see a frustrated Rogers definitely air some dirty laundry. Oh, can't wait for that one.

Let's go to Washington. Terry McClure and just got his new deal today. Three years, 96 mil. Happy for Washington. Rachel has some concerns about the defense. I am a little skeptical. I grew up in the D.C. area. A lot of my buddies are like doing that again, run to the NFC championship would be difficult.

you wrote a piece on Daniels last month that I thought was a good one. I'm curious your thoughts on Washington. Can they even come close to duplicating last year's heroics? Well, that's going to be tough. You know, they came out of nowhere. Now they're on everybody's radar. They can't sneak up on anybody. I think the moves that they've made in the offseason,

Adam Peters and Dan Quinn, as they put this thing together, their roster is definitely better as a whole. But that doesn't mean that they're going to have a better season. to have a better season. They basically have to get back to an FC championship and get to the Super Bowl. That's the only way you top that. Now you have expectations, you know, so I still think they can win 10 games, but that doesn't mean that they're going to wind up making a deeper playoff run.

I still think that Philadelphia winds up winning that division. They just are so strong top to bottom. But it's going to be interesting for Washington, how they continue to evolve. What do they do to stay a step ahead of the defense of Kingsbury and Jane Daniels? I think they have the potential to have a really good season again. But again, it's a tougher season, tougher schedule of games, tougher competition. So it'll be hard to surpass last year. Yeah, specifically that defense, like Jade and Daniels just kept bailing them out last year.

I think they had five or six wins in the final minute or what have you. I'm looking at that front seven, and it's like, that is toothless. Like they got old dudes and kind of, not to be disrespectful, just non-factors. I mean, Marshawn Lattimore hasn't been healthy in half a decade. So I just don't know how they stop anybody. And they're in a division where the Eagles offense is a juggernaut. Brian Daible is a sharp guy. Malik neighbors are very good.

And let's be real, Dallas has Dak Pickens and CD Lamb. Like that alone is going to give Washington problems. So is there a world where they slip back to third in the division? I do think that they in Dallas will be going back and forth head-to-head for that number two spot right there. it's possible. I agree with you on your concerns about the defense. They brought in Von Miller, but I don't know that he's really the answer as far as a pass rusher.

You know, it's going to take a lot of creativity from Dan Quinn once again. Bobby Wagner is a guy who sets a good tone, but, you know, he's not a spring chicken. And that secondary, you know, there are a lot of questions. And I don't know, they've drafted some young guys and we'll see how they develop. But I don't know that they were really able to take this defense to another level.

but I guess they're hoping with Terry McLaren, Debo Samuel, Jaden Damos, that maybe their offense can put up more points and so they won't have to rely on those close finishes, but that's a lot of ifs. Yeah, let me ask you, Mike. I missed this news last week while I was out. The Colts decided Daniel Jones is our guy. You know, kind of surprising, but Richardson did not have an inspiring preseason. He's always hurt.

He's still not accurate. So let's give Daniel Jones props for getting out of Minnesota, right? He knew he wasn't going to play with McCarthy there. gets to a spot where he can play. But what does this do for Richardson? Like, this is kind of, I mean, they drafted him to be the guy. And now it's like you can't even beat out Daniel Jones, who, let's be real, is not a good quarterback. Is Richardson's time up in Indy or what are you hearing?

Yeah, no, I think that's very concerning because, look, obviously he was a guy that you knew, yes, physically, a specimen, had some great college tape. It doesn't have a whole lot of college tape. I don't think he's actually had, you know, I think it was a stat that I heard last week that it was, he doesn't even have 2,000 plays yet under his belt between college and the NFL. So it takes a while to develop. And so you're hoping that you do the things, all the things carry yourself like a pro and continue to develop. But from the sounds of things, he was not doing all of those things.

That's the reason why last year he got benched because they were hoping to get through to him and kind of get his attention. And they went to Joe Flacco for a little bit here. And again, the durability is an issue. You know, the coaches say the best ability is availability. And if you're not able to stay on the field, not carrying yourself like a pro, then you're going to go to a guy. And so it's going to be hard to go back to him unless he totally, you know, kind of, you know, gets in line and is doing all the work and growing through practice reps. But that's not the same as game speed.

It's going to be tough. Yes, they're going to Daniel Jones. They're going to have to run the ball a whole lot. I think that's the blueprint that the giant showed a couple of times. years ago when they made it to the playoffs, squeaked in there. They relied on Sequin Barkley a whole lot. They didn't put a whole lot on to Daniel Jones' shoulders. I think Indy will lean on the run game, lean on their defense,

and hope that Daniel Jones can just take care of the football. Because you know, you're not going to get a whole lot of touchdown passes out of him because that was definitely not something that he was known for in New York. Yeah, I got to ask, Mike, just listen to you, answer that. I'm just trying to think back. We've seen a lot of these quarterbacks who go top five, top 10, It seems like more than normal in the last, I don't know, five, six, seven years. And they seem to flop in their first spot.

But they can thrive afterward. Baker Mayfield comes to mind. Sam Darnold comes to mind. Anthony Richardson. There's others. I'm just wondering, do you think, what do you think this is about? Is it guys are getting overdrafted? Is it we still don't know how to identify quarterbacks?

What's the issue? Well, I think that there's this pressure. Okay. got this guy. We need, you know, lots of times they're drafted to bad franchises, right? The guys like Patrick Mahomes, who the chiefs jumped up to trade and draft him, and then he sat behind Alex Smith for a year and was able to develop. A lot of these are bad franchises, except for, you know, San Francisco, they had Trey Lance, but it wasn't a real developmental plan for a lot of these guys, and they're playing sooner than what they should. They should,

okay, if you're going to spend that high pick on a guy, okay, but have a veteran in place, let him start, let this guy learn, especially some of these guys like Tray Lance, Anthony Richardson, who don't have a whole lot of college experience. The guys who are three and four years starters, it doesn't happen a whole lot anymore, but those guys are better off coming into the NFL, like Jane Daniels, had a lot of experience in college. That's why he was able to make a better transition. But so many of these young guys, they're playing sooner than they need to, and then the patience is not there because coaches don't have a whole lot of time to save their jobs before owners get impatient and, you know, heads start to roll.

And so it's just a whole mess in the way that they're drafting, developing, or not developing, and playing guys sooner than they should. Yeah, I'm looking at the list. It's not just a COVID thing either. You know, Bryce Young, by the way, this could be his last shot. But there's been other guys. And I'm just, you know, you see names like Josh Rosen, Mitch Trubisky. There's no given that even Caleb Williams is going to work out in Chicago.

I don't want to be too negative. if I know people, Jason, come on, he's got to be fine. Is he, Mike? I can't say for sure. Can you? No, we can't say for sure. But the thing is, you have to remember, he was in such an awful situation last year.

Then he had like three offensive coordinators throughout the course of the year. And so if you are learning and then everything keeps getting changed and now you have a new coach, you have got to learn a new language, a new way of doing things. I think that this is going to be a year of growing pains for him. but if he can get on the same page and understand and take all the tutoring that the math, the mad scientist that Ben Johnson is, then I think it's possible that we could see him still be okay. It's way too early to pull the bug or to panic, but you have to understand that again, he's having to relearn a lot of things. Last year, we saw him get sacked more than any other

quarterback in the league. They did upgrade their offensive line, but lots of times he was trying to make something out of nothing, think he could do what he did at USC, or he's running around, you know, across the field and back the other way. You know, you got defense alignment that are faster than that and are going to plant you into the ground now. So you got to learn to get rid of the ball quickly, make good decisions, and that's what he's going to have to understand if he wants to make it in the NFL. And I think it's possible. It's just going to take some time. All right. We can wrap up, you know, for fantasy purposes, some of us may have three or four drafts this week. Matthew Stafford, what are you hearing on the Rams quarterback? Because there's a lot

of people out here in the dark thinking like, oh, that's going to be bad. I don't know. Rams did not go into the Super Bowl. But there's also a whiff of, hey, man, he's old. He doesn't want to play in the preseason. He's going to be fine. Which side do you fall on here? I think that you can be cautiously optimistic that, okay, he knows the system inside and out. You know, they're being extra cautious with him because they know that they can't afford for him to, you know, get hurt in the preseason and then be banged up throughout the whole year. But again, if you were in that situation and it's that nerve-wracking, it just takes one hit in week one to throw things off the rails. And so we'll see what happens.

I thought when we're entering the off-season, the way that they finished last year, I thought, okay, the Rams are my pick to win that division. They might make some noise. I'm not so confident now. I'm a little bit skittish just because of what we've seen, we have heard as of late that he has returned to practice. He's not having any discomfort in things. So that's positive. But again, he hasn't gotten hit yet. And so a lot is riding on the health of that back.

By the way, they open up against the Houston Texans who maybe have a top four defense in the league, certainly front four. And they also have Philadelphia in week three. So you're probably on to something, Mike Stafford's going to get tested early. All right. Mike Jones, the athletic, great stuff, man. Thanks a lot for your time. All right, thanks for having me.

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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

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Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Back here on the herd, great stuff from Mike Jones at the Athletic. A lot of fun topics happening in the NFL, but also we've got an NBA one. Let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Jason, let's start with the chiefs.

They look sharp. This weekend, closed out their preseason with nice stuff from Patrick Mahomes. He finished with 143 yards and touchdown across three drives against the Bears. We've got Mahomes talking about getting back to the Super Bowl. Andy Reid talking about getting back to the Super Bowl. Travis Kelsey talking about getting back to the Super Bowl. We've got Las Vegas, Jason, saying that the Chiefs are the fourth best, fourth best odds to win the Super Bowl. And yet, you, Jason McIntyre, do you still not believe they're even going to make the playoffs?

Yeah, that's my prediction. I've had a couple wrong predictions in my career. Have you had any ever heard? I mean, you know. Yeah, it happens. I just, I've gone over it all summer. Yes, I understand. Mahomes look good in the preseason finale.

Schedule is not easy. He's faced Lamar, Herbert, hurts all early. I don't know, where are you on Kelsey? I know he's talking about the Super Bowl, but actions over words, he's doing photo shoots. And he's prancing around the country with his cool girlfriend, I got no problem with that, but I'm just saying, like, words and actions. I don't know.

He certainly looks better than he did coming into the last couple of seasons. So there's the action I'm looking for is how much does he appear to have been working out? He was doing a lot of stuff down in Florida. It seems as if he is refocused going into this season. And he's earned us taking his word for it. So I'm okay with that. The problem to me with the Chiefs, I think they're making the playoffs. I don't have any question about that.

But I would not say that they are going back to the Super Bowl. They just haven't figured out how to recapture that magic they have with Patrick Mahomes. The explosive next rate for this offense has gone down and down and down. Nine percent last season that puts them 29th in the league. And you are talking about a quarterback that has one of the most potentials for explosive plays in the entire league. So you look at who they got in there. I just, I don't think they had a great offseason. Are you of the belief defenses have taken it away from Mahomes?

And that was kind of his superpower. Let me just chuck it up to Tyreek Hill or whoever's going to run under. it. And defense is like, we're not giving that to you. The too high shell, hey, keep everything in front of my homes. You're going to eventually be like, I got to chuck it. So does he figure it out easily this year? I don't want to call Kelsey Wash, but he's coming off the worst year of his career. I'm not calling him that, but he is coming off a terrible Super Bowl. Do they have enough underneath threats? Like, is Rishie Rice going to get it done? And by the way, not an explosive receiver either. So even though he's back and that should help them this season, that kind of stuff

you're talking about with the Mahomes sort of being able to do the Mahomes, razzle-dazzle. And we don't even know how much Rishi Rice is going to be around. He has this arbitration case coming up. There's talk about him missing six games according to sources of what the league wants. Obviously the Chiefs want him more at four games. We'll have to see. I mean, he's going to be around in a 17-game season, but how disruptive that ends up being is going to be. be a question. I don't know. Again, I think the Chiefs will be fine this year. What's fine? 10, 11, 12? Yeah. I mean, look, I just don't see them getting to the Super Bowl again because you've got the Baltimore Ravens where it feels like, man, this could be their year. You've got the bills

and Josh Allen where it feels like, man, really, they are ready to break through. So I expect, look, the Chiefs are again going to get some wins off of those one score games. They were so exceptional at it last year. You know, there's a regression to the mean. You don't think that luck is going to go completely in that direction, but it wasn't just luck. You are talking about such an experience play caller and Andy Reid, a guy like Patrick Mahomes who can do anything he wants out there when he has the opportunity.

I think they will rack up some extra wins the same way they did last season. But they just don't feel to me like they are, oh, man, they're a favorite to win the Super Bowl. And the offense of wine stuff. They don't feel like to leave and make the playoffs. Yeah, missing the playoff. But the offensive line stuff, everybody's like, oh, this guy Simmons, they got out of Ohio State. Hey, man, he's a game.

What a steal. Can we have him play a game in the NFL? Like, they're just so excited because tackle has been an issue in the two Super Bowl losses. They've taken some hits to our offensive line as well. So, you know, we'll let's see how it plays out. But, man, not making the playoffs. Go bigger, go home, Rachel. Let's talk about another guy who's likely not making the playoffs.

Cam Ward, strong. preseason though. He did orchestrated TD Drive in his first action. He did not throw any touchdowns in his three appearances. With a week one matchup in the road against the Broncos on the horizon, Brian Callahan is confident in his rookie quarterback. Take a listen. His command's been outstanding. He doesn't get rattled. He

fights through. We've over, we've had some long down in distances. He's made some plays. He's made some really nice throws. There's just a confidence in his demeanor that I have when he's in there that this is, you know, none of it's too big for him. And then he really operates calmly and finds completions. And those are the things that we've worked on over training camp. He's going to be able to make the big place. You know, that's what he does. And he's going to be able to move around more when I don't have the governor on him to don't take any hits. But I think all of that stuff has been really positive. He's done well in his

limited showing. And I feel confident where he's at. Look, Brian Callahan is the guy who helped develop Joe Burrough. Yeah. Right. He was the offensive coordinator and Joe has credited him with making a huge difference. So they have the right guy there, it seems, to help develop Cam Ward. But Cam Ward will still be playing on that offense, which is horrible, Jason. What do you think the outlook is for his rookie season? I'm actually bullish. Listen, you remember Jane Daniels obviously Washington? Sure. Nobody had them winning double-digit games. It was like new coach, new OC, new owner, knew everything.

And he just, all the attention was on Caleb Williams. Jaden Daniels Quiley was amazing. I don't see why Cam Ward can't orchestrate some magic in Tennessee. I like the offensive line changes. Like you said, Callahan's excellent. They could use a few more receivers. I hate to give away fantasy strategy, but Tony Pollard is going to eat big time this year.

I like him a lot. So I think they can win the division. I did go to Vegas, and one of my bets was Titans to win that division. It's kind of a long shot, but every year you know this, somebody goes like worst to first. I don't see why it can't be Tennessee. Yeah, I'm not sure I'm going to go that far, but I appreciate your optimism. I do think Cam Ward appears to be special, right? It's just not what he does on the field.

It's the way he approaches the game. He seems wise beyond his years. He knows how to deal with the media. He's a leader on that team already. The guys really respect him, which is tough when you're walking in there as a rookie. He had that fight in training camp. Yes. Remember where a lot of people were like, ah, see, he's showing.

toughness and he's gritty. Can you imagine if Shador Sanders gotten a fight like that in training him? We do three hours on that. Right, exactly. I'm not sure people would say, oh, that's great. He's gritty. But yeah, look, in this context, Cam Ward is definitely showing he belongs in the NFL.

And that's a big deal when you haven't even played a game yet. And Will Levis, I think that hurts out for the year, I believe. So Ward is going to have like a long leash. It's like, hey, man, you screw up, that's fine. You throw three picks. That's okay. We're going to play through it. Yeah, I like Tennessee a little this year to surprise.

Not in week one. Denver probably murders them at mile high. I don't think it's going to be, I don't think it's going to be smooth there for you. A week one, yeah. Right? I've got that. All right. To the NBA, all off season, we've heard about reports, right? LeBron being unhappy with the Lakers, the Lakers shifting their focus from him to Lucan Dantzic. Now, over the summer, there was talk about LeBron potentially forcing his way out. I will tell you, I've never thought that was going to happen. Right, right.

But clearly unhappy. and he is going to stay in L.A., of course. There is a team, though, that wants to pry him out of the Lakers and thinks that maybe at least by the trade deadline they can get him. It is the Golden State Warriors, a report that they have repeatedly been going after him three or four times in the last 18 months. And the latest trade package they're offering involves...

Right, well, it involves like taking... I mean, the main part of it is taking Jimmy Butler's salary for LeBron's salary, which is a salary swap. that would work. You know, it's so hard to trade these superstars because you've got to make the salaries work and the second apron and the 18th apron and all the stuff. But that would work for the Warriors. Wouldn't work for the Lakers. The Lakers are determined to have a clean cap sheet going forward because they don't want to find a player over 30 to pair with Luka Dachich. They want a super superstar in his 20s to come pair with Luka Dach. So they don't really tied to Jimmy Butler's

contract, which is why they don't want to be tied to LeBron. That's why they have an extended LeBron is because they don't want to be tied to that kind of money going forward when they can possibly try to, you know, attract either a superstar who's unhappy somewhere or get a guy who's up that he's his free agent.

Who were those highlights up on it? I don't even recognize that guy. He's so skinny. Can you tell who is 77 there? Exactly. Yeah. But in all seriousness, Rachel, I got to ask, so how do the Lakers get LeBron to Golden State without taking Butler. Can they reroute Butler somewhere and then bring in someone else? I just don't think the Lakers are interested in making this trade.

And by the way, they would like LeBron to play for them. Yeah, you don't want to move off LeBron. This is a whole NBA last year. Great. I mean, that's what the funny thing about it is there was a point in the summer where people talking about, well, LeBron wants to win now. Guess what? The Lakers might not be the favorite for the NBA title,

but they are set up very well. in a competitive West. You've got LeBron, who is still playing at an all-MBA level. You've got Skinny Luca, who could be one of the top two, three players in the NBA this season. You've got a supporting cast that, again, not elite, but certainly jumps out. It's filling a lot of their needs. The Lakers would like to go with this roster going forward. The only frustration in the LeBron camp is he is playing at an all-MBABA level.

And to play out the final year of his contract without an extension, it feels insulting. it also feels like if he wants to play more basketball, he should have the option to stay at home and play more basketball as opposed to the Lakers saying goodbye to him. So that's where some of the disconnect has come. It's not playing with Luka. He likes playing with Luka. So are you, I can't tell if you sound like

you think the Lakers should offer something beyond this year. No. I don't. I mean, look. It's a tough spot. It's a tough spot to be in. And there's no road ahead that we can follow for this, right? It's never happened before. No, LeBron is right.

A guy playing at that. level should always be offered a contract extension, should not be sitting there hanging on the edge playing at his last year, but also a guy who's in his early 40s should not be offered contract extensions that would tie up a team with a young superstar. So there's no conventional wisdom that applies because there's never been a situation like this before. So we'll just have to see how they go forward. I'm trying to think of the Brady exit from New England. With that similar or was that more of him beefing with Belichick, get me the hell out of here.

I'm going to go to Tampa and win. I don't see it as similar only because I think LeBron would like to stay with the Lakers. In LeBron's ideal world, in my opinion, I haven't had a heart to heart with him about this. Have you spoken? Listen, you're plugged in. I don't know.

Have you talked to LeBron? But in my opinion, look, his family is here. He is very settled in Los Angeles. He likes playing for the Lakers. It's, you know, the showiest franchise in the NBA. And he is excited to play with Luca, this narrative that he's somehow jealous of Luca. It does not exist.

He has liked Luca Donchage from the minute. Luca got into the league. Luca has always said he patterned his entire game after LeBron. Luca is going to take off so much physical pressure on LeBron this season. But he wants to be treated with the respect he thinks he deserves and the salary that he obviously deserves. And they are just not sure they can commit to him for that. Do you think this is why he's playing golf all summer? and that's all he's talking about on Instagram.

I mean, I follow him, obviously. Yes, I mean, look, it's nice to be distracted by something, right? I talked to Rich Paul at Summer League, and he said to me a couple times, he's like, I've told LeBron, like, don't pay attention to all of this, you know, podcast talk and radio talk and rumors and whatever. Do something else. Clear your head. So maybe LeBron took Rich Paul's advice.

I don't know. Yeah. Listen, you know I'm team LeBron. I'm sure you covered some Michael Jordan back in the day. Yeah, I did. Can I quickly ask you before we go to break who your goat is in the NBA? Different eras, man. I'm of the different eras argument.

I'm sorry. I just, I don't think you can compare. Right? The game is so much. It's so different. It's so different. These guys are so different. We'll cop out.

You're trying to, okay, do you want to compare Michael Jordan to Bill Russell? Do that one for me. Yeah, you're right. Russell, it was like 18 to the league. I think there was eight, maybe. But good stuff, Rachel, Rachel Nichols with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Lie News. I got some Detroit Lions fans. I'm buddies with them. They're really geeked about this season. And I'm trying to tell them. I think the Super Bowl window's closing. I'll tell you why next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? 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. starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little. Notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen.

We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay.

Jenchian win. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina. But I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. All right, since the moment it was announced, You know everyone's had this matchup circled. The Arch Manning era kicks off with a playoff rematch for the ages. Number one, Texas, taking on defending national champion, number three, Ohio State on Big Noon Saturday.

Coverage begins, of course, with Big Noon kickoff. Live from Columbus starts at 9 a.m. Eastern Saturday on Fox. Cannot wait for that. We'll do a lot of college football leading up to the opening weekend. So many good games. I can't wait. However, I quickly wanted to tell a quick story. So in college, me and my buddies, you know, we were kind of negative. We would make fun of each other a lot. That's what dudes do. You know, you'd roll up to gather at a pregame and go out and be like, oh, that shirt is so tired.

Why didn't you get a haircut? We just make fun of each other. That's what guys do. And then this new guy joined our group and he was like, why are you guys so negative? You need to be way more positive than hype each other up. So we started to build each other up. Oh, you're so money. I think it had a lot to do with the Swingers movie Vince Vaughn. And I want to bring that up because of the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell took to the podium this week, and he is irrationally excited, almost like it's fake, pump-up, rah-rah stuff.

Take a listen to Dan Campbell about his excitement about his roster. Listen. A year five, this is the best we felt about it, kind of top the bottom. And now, that being said, there's still holes. But I bring this up all the time. Every roster has holes. And you'll never have it exactly where you totally want it. But from where we've come year after year, this is we've taken in another level.

I like that Smedium look from Dan Campbell. That's the money, money look, Dan. Listen, he's talking a big game. But folks, some bad news. I think the Super Bowl window's closed. Remember, we've seen teams get close. My Jets with Mark Sanchez, shout out Mark, and Rex Ryan. Two AFC title games in a row.

Everybody thinks, oh, we got something here. No playoff appearances since. You go back to the Jim Kelly Bills, four straight Super Bowls. And they were in the wilderness for 20 years before Josh Allen showed up. Okay? It is hard. And this Lions team is going to backslide. They ain't winning 15 games.

I asked the staff to get the Lions schedule on the screen. Are you guys ready for this? The Detroit Lions have the toughest road schedule in the NFL on the road. These are the quarterbacks they have to face this season. Jordan Love, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield. That's before Halloween. They got to go to Jalen Hertz. They got to go to Matt Stafford.

Guys, that is absolutely brutal. And, oh, by the way, down to interior offensive linemen. One retired, and they let Zietler go. one of my boys who puts together a great NFL gambling right up said those two offensive linemen that were lost over the last three seasons were top five at their position. So that's a huge step back. They're starting a third round rookie likely at center. And then obviously the position coaches are huge, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. Those are massive losses.

So the new OC, okay, he has not been an offensive quarter to nader since 2017. He was an OC and then didn't go well. Hasn't been an OC again until this year. Their new defensive coordinator was playing in the league in 2018. The highest he got as a coach before getting the defensive coordinator gig was a linebacker coach. Guys, this is going to be a big regression. Okay, they had 14 indoor games last year, down to 10.

Now, I'm not saying the Lions totally crumble. There's not a ton of cold weather games, although they go to Chicago in the final week of the season, but they do have to go to Philly and Washington could be cold weather games. We'll see, likely October, November. I just, I don't see it. A list of the quarterbacks they have to face

must terrify you when you look at the defense. Guys, the depth chart for that defense is, what's going on? You remember the movie Major League? They would be like, every season is like, who the bleep are these guys? Look at that lion's defense and you're like, she's, we're cooked.

We got to stop these quarterbacks with these. guys, listen, I have them missing the playoffs. And I think the Super Bowl windows closed. Now, Jared Goff obviously lives in my area. I'm rooting for you, Jared. But it's an uphill climb. Final hour coming up next year

on a Monday on the herd. 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 our 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 Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcast Presents Soccer moms. So I'm Leanne.

Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip, just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast we're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey

with all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got it. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano.

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

You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.