The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 3 - Cowboys Trade Deadline Dissection, Geoff Schwartz, Jon Machota

Episode Date: November 5, 2025

More on the Cowboys trade deadline deals and what owner Jerry Jones is thinking going forwardGuests: GEOFF SCHWARTZ - FOX SPORTS NFL & CFB ANALYST,  JON MACHOTA - COWBOYS REPORTER See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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He's got a lot of connections to the Kansas City Chiefs. So obviously he wanted them to get Reese Hall from my jets. He also played at Oregon. It's welcome in Jeff Schwartz from the Bear Betts podcast. Jeff obviously wearing his Oregon Ducks gear. Very excited. Hey, how nervous are you for that Iowa? game. You can't just walk in Iowa

and expect you get a W, Jeff. That's what I've heard. I've heard for days now. Can't win in Iowa. It's too hard to win in Iowa. It's going to be a fun game. It's going to be physical. It's going to be a battle between two teams that want to do the same thing. Both sides of the ball. Organ get past the ball a little bit better, but they've struggled against a better

defense to pass the football. What I'm looking for from Oregon side is I want to see some aggressiveness on offense. I felt like the Indiana game we play a little too passively, right? We let Indiana bring it to us And maybe it's a wrong idea to do that to Iowa. But I want to see some aggressiveness for our passing. The weather might be bad, so we'll see if that affects that.

But I like our defense. I like that matchup against Iowa's offense. The defense is really good. Iowa can't throw the ball. We have not struggled against offenses like this in the past. The offensive is struggling against Ohio State, the Washington, the Indians. We throw the ball a little bit more. So I'm looking forward.

The game is going to love scoring, man. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be a grind. Can we avoid mistakes? right i was so good on special teams can you avoid some sort of special teams error so look what iowa does so well it's very hard to do in this sport if they just don't make mistakes right they let other teams make the mistakes for them and if you can avoid that that's the best path to winning this saturday i took the six just a little nibble a little action play let me ask you about dante more

i had a devon gardner a college football announcer who knows dante more well i had him on my podcast he is of the belief that Dante Moore probably stays in school. Now, Dante Moore was early in the season. Oh, my gosh, this guy's lights out. Then came the Indiana game and everybody's pulled back a little bit. Where are you on the Oregon quarterback? Yeah, I think he stays one more year. I don't have any inside information, but look, this stats in building for 2026.

If you look at the recruits that they have, the transfer border players, the roster they have, the young at running back, the wide receiver, the young and the secondary. They got a lot of young defense linemen. They're going to be a linebacker next season. They sort of been building for 2026. And you can make the case that with NIL now, players stay sometimes. We saw Ohio State do it last year, right? Everyone comes back.

We saw Washington in 2023. They had like eight draft picks come back to try to win a championship. They were a couple drives short against Michigan in that game. So I think that's the sell is to try to get a lot of guys come back, whether it's more, whether it's Mateo, Sadiq's probably gone. maybe convince one of the offense alignment or two to come back, and it does feel like that's what the plan is for next season when everyone's a little bit more seasoned.

And you have an opportunity, I think, at that time, to make a run for the championship. While we're on college football, any glaring omissions screw-ups by the college football committee seem like a relatively clean and peaceful first offering. Your thoughts? Yeah, it was interesting, because it's the first year we've heard early on that they're going eye test and film.

We've never heard that before. And I've always thought that was the case, right? I always thought I-Test matters. They're humans watching the games. So I'm glad they're actually acknowledging that. I'm telling you guys right now, the team that is going to be disruptor, and you have to accept this is Texas if they beat Georgia.

If Texas beats Georgia, they're going to be in the top seven, probably most likely where because BYU is dropping out. If Oregon loses, they're out, right? Like they're going to be Georgia. If they lose to Texas, they're out of the top seven. And then Texas might be the first, you know, three-lossed non-conference champion to be in the playoffs.

They beat Georgia. They go to the top seven. They lose to A&M. The end of the season, they're not dropping out of the top 10, losing to the number three team in the country in a close game, let's say. So to me it's Texas, man.

I think Texas, they're playing slightly better every week, which is important. They can go into Athens and beat Georgia. Be prepared for Texas as a playoff team. I don't think people are taking that as seriously as you should. It's weird. You know,

they suffer the early loss to Ohio's. state and then they beat Oklahoma. I mean, Mattier just coming off the injury. Like, I just look at the resume. I'm like, oh,

the win over Vandy is swell. But, I mean, it was Vanderbilt, who were, you know, smoking mirrors all season. I'm not buying the Texas side.

Do you think they can actually win at Georgia? I haven't seen a line for that game yet. I would guess it's probably north of seven for Georgia. I think it's probably about seven. I mean, I think that the teams are going to rate these, you know, closer. Georgia's been itching for a loss, man. Look, the best thing they've done this season

and get Kirby credit is, you know, they have been hard to kill, right? He said that to us on the bare-beds pocket. I said him on last week, but they've played enough close games now where one of them's not going to be in their direction. We know how this goes with these close games, right? They've had multiple comebacks. They've done a great job. They've won the games.

That is important to win the football game. But I'm not saying Texas is going to win that game. I'm just saying they've played in their close game again. Those are 50-50, right? And maybe it goes the other direction in Texas, up with a win. But again, I don't know to your point, I don't if I trust Texas to win that game, but I just want people

to understand that, like, I think we've ignored Texas because the way they started the season, they're very much in the hunt to be a playoff team. Yeah, all right, let's pivot to the NFL and another green team had a monster monster day yesterday. That's my New York Jets. You could go ahead and

pick it apart. The sauce deal felt like a bit of a heist for a desperate team. And the Quinn and Williams deal is laughable from Jerry's perspective. Another bad deal by a bad owner. So the Jets, are they winning the Super Bowl in 28 or 29? Look, I think you give yourself the best option now to be aggressive finding the quarterback, right?

Because, look, I understand trading away core players on defense that are good. I think something sauce is good. You know, changing a team might be helpful for him. I suddenly Williams can play better. I think you get dragged out. I've been on bad teams before. You get dragged down sometimes by the weight of losing. and now you're playing, especially Soss right,

for team trying to be the one seat, you'll probably pick your play up a little bit. But you're trading away those players knowing that you cannot win without a quarterback. And now you have the AMA, whether it's this draft or the next draft, to get the guy the future. You cannot win if you're not a quarterback. So I like what the Jets did.

I thought if you were told them that you end up with three first round picks for their two players, they would be ecstatic. The Colts took a big gamble. I think Jerry Jones and Dallas just, he needs chaos in his life he needs like to always do something and feel something so he makes these trades the trade makes no sense um but i think just did a really good job here of just giving themselves a lot of options come this spring yeah um i'm gonna look elsewhere in the league kansas city chiefs you know a lot of teams reactionary and um i know they didn't look sharp against the bills and isaiah pacheco did not play there's some issues with the run game i saw some defensive breakdowns the Bill's Jeff played with six defensive backs almost the entire game and dared the Chiefs to run the football on them.

And the Chiefs could not. Now I know they were down some offensive linemen, but are you surprised they didn't go out and make a move and overpay, if you will, for Brise Hall? Apparently they were offering a four and the Jets had three or just get the hell out of Dodge. But did the Chiefs need a running back? Yes and no. It would have been nice, I think, but they don't have a lot of draft picks next season. And I think that's part of the reason why they weren't really willing to part with anything more than a fourth round pick. But have Smith, who's young and Chiefs fans want him to play, at running back, you have to be able to pass protect.

And a lot of times young guys don't play early because they're not ready for that yet. Smith is new to the position. He has not played a lot of running back in his career in college. I think he's just not ready in that part of his game. That's why he's not playing. If he gets up to speed and pass protection, he could be your answer. He's a dynamic player at that position if he gets the ball a little more. I was more upset Jay Mack with the game plan against Buffalo.

You mentioned it, right? All the defense tackles hurt. Just run the football. Like they just sometimes, I feel like I have their own worst enemy offensively with some of the gameplay. I don't know what that game plan was. They have games where they commit to under center runs. They have games where they don't commit to it. And so look, give Buffalo the credit.

They played really well. They were the better team. But I think the chiefs just game plan wise, I didn't love it. And now you have a tough stretch, right? You have the Broncos off a by, like, you're in. It's almost a must-win if you want to win the division, like coming off the by and playing Denver. Now, I know I'm a Chiefs hater, blah, blah, blah.

You are. Let's be real. Patrick Mahomes, when pressured, three of 16 against Buffalo. That's a staggering number. He was, he seemed reluctant to run. Mahomes, I mean, this was one of the worst games of his career. He genuinely looked confused, Jeff. And again, I'm not bashing him.

I know he's won Super Bowls. he's a superstar he's going to the Hall of Fame. I don't care. I'm just looking at that game. I mean, he was just totally locked up by a defense that you got to admit, they have looked shaky all season.

I agree. That's why the game was confusing to me because we had seen since Worthy came back and Rice came back. Like this offense looked like it had turned the corner just schematically, right? There were guys open deep. They were doing different things

that had done for a couple years. And it scored 28 points of five straight games. And yes, some of those teams weren't great, but that's what you do against bad teams, right? You score a lot of points. You run the score up. And against Buffalo, whose defense has struggled, they had no answer. They had nothing. They look lost. And that's what was surprising thing, because I thought they got in a point where they figured out what they want to do offensively, and it didn't

happen in this game. So is that indicative of when you play better teams, you're not as good, or is it that you had a bad game? But again, you come out of the buy. I think it's Denver, and there might be one more than Indianapolis. It's like you're going to come out pretty quickly and figure out. out the type of team you are. If you lose to Denver, you're three back, I think, in the division with, what, seven games left. So a really big game off.

While the Chiefs have been good historically off a buy. So we'll see if that game goes. All right. Two more real quick. Number one, any bets in the account this weekend on the NFL front? I only have Thursday night football and Bears Giants. But it is a tight week of lines. Anything jump out to you or have you hit anything yet?

J. Mack. If someone asked me to win an NFL side, and my kids' life were on the line. It would not be good, buddy. Is it going that poorly? I have not won an NFL side in a long time. Oh. And it's been a rough go.

I mean, look, I don't want to get on national TV and radio and complain about my wagers, but, you know, I had the Chargers last week. They scored 27 points in offense. The Titans scored six. Yeah. Chargers didn't cover. I don't know.

I don't know what else to do. What is supposed to do? But that was a good read. That was a good. The process was good. I've been, yeah, but I haven't wanted to wait during a long time. So I don't have, I have more controversial. You know, on Wednesday, it's hard with NFL.

I like what I like UCLA to cover. I like West Virginia to cover. I like USC Friday night. Colin will love to hear that to cover against Northwestern. So the NFL, the NFL sides matter hard. It's just, it's a tough business to be in on those sides. And last one, McVeigh-Shannahan. I'm trying to look at injury reports during commercial breaks.

Nothing yet from San Fran. I don't know if it's going to be purdy. I don't know if Ricky Piersall's alive. I mean, I don't know what the hell is going on with the Niners. Rams, the number's gone up, though. I see four and a half offshore. That seems like a big number. But the 49ers defense has been sneaky bad.

Well, it's not been sneaky. It's been bad because they don't have their best players. Like, eventually when you lose Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, it's going to be bad. And the Rams obviously have to avenge, like, what happened in a couple of Thursdays ago. I mean, I would probably lean Rams here. I don't feel great about it. But the Niners defense is a problem because you don't replace those guys. And they had the one game that's the Falcons where it was like, oh, you know, we played really well with our backups.

And then since then it's been a problem. That's not a surprise because the Rams take advantage of it. The Rams really, until that Thursday night game, it sort of owned this series the last three years. So I'm curious to see how they bounce back from that. It'll be a good one. Jeff Schwartz, Bear Betts, podcast. I would say good luck to your ducks, but I'm on the Hawkeyes Small Plus Six. So have a great weekend.

You can cover. There you go. Yeah, there you go. Perfect. Thanks a lot, buddy. Take care, buddy. All right. Good stuff from Jeff Schwartz.

I wonder if Rachel and Jeff had a bet on Oregon Northwestern. I don't even know if they play this season. All right. No respect for Northwestern on today's show. Sorry, I haven't looked at the college basketball team. Seasons underway. You, Joe Clat, him. It's just, it's brutal out here.

All right. Let's go to Rachel with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd. News. All right, that Cowboys trade we've mentioned just a few times on the show, all types of reactions. But here's one from quarterback Dak Prescott.

Dak told the media he was bleeping pumped for Quinn and Williams to join the team. Head coach Brian Schenheimer added, quote, goodos to Jerry, Stephen and Will for being aggressive and smart. Jason, does that convince you that this was a brilliant move? Now that Dak said so. I would be so concerned if Dak was like, what the hell are we doing? Jerry, you're out of your mind. It just, I don't see how you move off Micah and then think

you made a mistake and then go into Quinn and Williams. And I know it's for next year. I mean, you know, Dax had a rich injury history that lasts like three or four years. I know he's been good. What are we doing with Pickens in the off season? Like, just still a lot of questions.

We have a Cowboys reporter coming up in about 12 minutes who hopefully can address some stuff. But, hey, I will say this about Dak. The more he talks, the more I like him. Look, I knew how down you were. on this trade. So I thought I would look up some other trade grades from other sources. Our own Fox Sports website gave this a C-minus. For Dallas, okay. For Dallas, the athletic gave it a B-minus. CBS gave it a B-minus.

Sports Illustrated coming in with a B-plus. So, you know, I think most people agree with you and not Dak Prescott is my point. Good stuff. There you go. All right. To the hardwood, Desmond Bain got two for the price of one here last night. Yes, I saw this. Take a look at this foul. And then what was that about? about right oh in the point this because he fells and then spikes the ball bro that is dangerous and then he points it is that Capella or a con oh no it's a congo we felt he got a flagrant he got a tack he said after the game he was surprised he was ejected why'd they throw me out i just expected a regular foul he finished two for six from the floor three turnovers before he did

hit the showers. That is. Do you agree with the officials or with Bain? Should he have gotten kicked out? So a quick backup. So he was supposed to be like a big pickup for the magic. Huge. I'm looking at the standings.

They're three and five and struggling. Yeah. I wonder if he's just frustrated with how things are going. I know there's some analytic tension. They're actually better with Bain off the floor this season. Listen, it takes a while to let this stuff fake, right? Yeah. I mean, look, they were picked, though, for getting to the East finals.

They were a contender for sure. currently they're 10th. This did not, when you just see this highlight, you're like, whoa, what's that about? Like, I don't know. They're not going to suspend him, do you think? I mean, he has a history of some of these heated incidents. I don't think the league office is going to get involved, but they could. I mean, that's when they get involved in this kind of thing, it's because, oh, well, repetitive, you know, repeat a fend.

It's less about the foul. It's more the spiking of the ball on the guy. Like in the NFL, that's 15 yards and maybe in a college football, they're tossing you. Target. I don't. Yeah. Surprised he was ejected. Wow.

There you go. All right. Let's go back to football. After Kyler Murray was listed as inactive on Monday night, there was speculation about his future in Arizona. Speculation is only growing as head coach Jonathan Gannon announced. Jacoby Brissette will get the start for the Cardinals next week. And now new timelines are being reported for Murray's return from his foot injury.

Adam Schefter at ESPN reporting it could be another month or two. No. Now, you said in the meeting this morning, you think this was like a soft benching. You're skeptical of the medical report. Last week on Friday, I think it was Friday, they said, Kyler Marie is not going to start, but he could have a role. Remember, they used that wording. I think, you know, the kind of thing where the team texts all the reporters,

rap-up board, Jeff. Could have a role. And then it was like, no, he's inactive. Inactive. And now he could miss a month or two. Yeah. So I did ask this in the morning meeting, and I got, you know, a lot of thumbs down, and you're out of your mind.

Rachel, four years from now, is Kyler Murray in the NFL or playing Major League Baseball? I don't think he's playing Major League Baseball. Those are my only two choices. It's been a while, though. Just the attitude I've seen from him in the last couple months, and now this is clearly a soft benching. I mean, come on.

Well, look, if you look at the numbers, right, they're just better with percent, right? Undeniable. The third down conversion rate is near 50%. If you stay on the field longer, you have the chance to score more. With him leading the offense, they're scoring more than five points more a game.

And if you look at their results, this is a crazy number, right? So they're three and five now. But if they have been scoring those five points more a game with Berset instead of Murray, they'd be six and two. That is a big swing. Nobody's saying Bresset's a franchise quarterback, right? I don't think we agree.

He's a great backup, come in for a few games. But I think what we're saying is, Kyler is not a franchise at this point. Now, maybe he could be rehabbed like Baker and Donald and these guys. Rachel, I would love it if somebody found me a legit landing spot for Kyla. I keep hearing Saints and Raiders. Right. Why would they do that?

I mean, there's usually someone. Somebody's dumb enough to be like, I can fix this guy. Well, we've seen a lot of guys fixed recently, right? We have. So I think people now are like, oh, Daniel Jones is doing pretty well in Indianapolis, like that sort of thing. And Sam Darnold's doing well in Seattle. Check back in December on DJ.

Is it Danny Luce Change? Is it Indiana Jones? I mean, Indiana Jones is good. That's pretty cool. It's good. You can't flame him for, you know, digging that one. And listen, Daniel Jones has been great. That's undeniable.

I just, when you see the Kyler interviews, I mean, there was a question about his, him, about the new facility and practice field. He's like, if I'm here. And it was like, wow, that's not funny, bro. No. And the coaches know that if he comes back in and if the status of them losing more games than winning from when he was playing, their jobs are indeed.

And they got McBride and Harrison, and they had Connor. That's a good team. I'm a little surprised, but a fun story. 48 weeks maybe on that foot injury. We don't even know what the foot injury is. No specifics. But the tweet from Shafter was 48 weeks

because if he comes back too soon, it could do more long-term damage. What is this, a Jones fracture? Yeah, we know. NBA injuries. We need to drill down. Are they skirting the rules here? The Ravens got fined for that Lamar thing, 100K. It could also be totally legitimate. Like we don't know. Could be. Yeah. All right, Rachel Nichols with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. All right, we are going

live to Dallas for the vibe on the ground, boots on the ground after the big Quinn and Williams trade. That's next here on the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays, and Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio. And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right. You can now watch the Odd Couple live on YouTube every day. All you got to do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again.

YouTube, just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. 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 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. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 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 at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.

She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner Rabakina is. arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about

defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stopped by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Start your Saturday Strong with the unstoppable second-rate Hoosiers. all eyes, including Jason's, by the way, on Fernando Mendoza as he leads Indiana and continues his Heisman campaign against Penn State. It all starts with Big Noon kickoff at 10 a.m. Eastern. Then it's Indiana Penn State, Big Noon Saturday, only on Fox. Yes. That's a good one. Clatt talked about that game earlier. All right, quickly, I don't know if you missed it earlier. Jerry Jones talked about this Quinn and Williams trade. And listen to him trying to really sell the fan base on acquiring the Jets defensive tackle. I don't have time personally to have a bad time. It's not on my schedule.

And so I have a natural urgency because of my age. And so my tomorrow's, the immediate tomorrow, are a big thing to me. But I also have enough discipline not to get in trouble for years to come. All right. So to make sense of it, let's bring in John Machota, covers the Cowboys for the Athletic. He's been covering Cowboys football forever. John, another day in paradise for you.

Just your big picture, the move to get Quentin Williams on the Cowboys. Was it for this year? Next year, was it well calculated? Was it an irrational decision off the Arizona loss? Let's hear it. So most of us believe that their chances of making the playoffs are done, and they were ended with that loss on Monday night to the Cardinals. Jerry Jones is the eternal optimist.

And so he will say it's about this year. He'll talk about how much Quinn and can help him this season. They did more five down linemen looks against the Cardinals, and that's the plan going forward. But realistically speaking, this deal doesn't get done if the future is the big part of it. If Quinn and Williams isn't under contract beyond the season, they're not making this move. And so Jerry can say it's about this season and that he still has hopes

and he wants fans to continue to tune in and attend games at AT&T Stadium. But in all reality, it is about next season and beyond. And as bad as the Cowboys defense has been this season, and it has been bad, it's been about as bad as it's ever been in franchise history. A move like this, and there are a few other things they can do in the offseason where it wouldn't be that hard for me to sell to you that they could be a legitimate contender next season. This season, though, I'm not going to try and sell that to you. Wow, legitimate contender.

That's a quantum leap. Let me, so the linebackers are one of the worst groups in the league. I'm looking at their grades. Again, it's just both football focus, but they're all orange, like bottom of the barrel. Secondary stinks. Listen, two years ago with McCarthy, they had the number three rated defense. Mike McCarthy at the helm, Micah Parsons, off the edge. I don't think they're getting back there, even with the addition of Logan Wilson and Quina Williams.

Do you? I don't think they are this season. I really, I don't. I mean, there's just too many issues they've had defense. for me to think that a player or two is going to fix all of those. But like I said, if you talk about in the off season, you got DeMarvie on Overshones coming back, who might be their best playmaker on defense.

It was coming back from a major knee injury. Now, he has to stay healthy. But you have him with Quinn and Williams, Osadigizua, Donovan Azaraku, has been a young pass rusher that's ascending for them. You're going to have two first round picks in next year's draft. You could fix this defense pretty quickly. and offensively, they don't feel like they're that far off as it is right now. And so that's why, yeah, right now, you should not be holding out hope that the Cowboys

are going to make this deep playoff run. That's unlikely to happen. But beyond this season, no, there's certainly something there where they could turn this thing around quick. Yeah, we'll get to the offense at a sec. But quick question on the defense. So Bland is not delivering like a $92 million man should. He got roasted on Monday night football.

And then there's the mystery of Trayvon Diggs, who, I mean, as a rookie, was supposed to be the second coming of like, frigging Dion Sanders or something. And now he's got this mystery concussion that he suffered at home that we don't have an explanation on. And it sounds like he's going to be shipped at the end of he just, he's not going to be here next year. What's going on with digs in the secondary?

Yeah, it's unlikely he won't be on the team next season. There obviously is a disconnect between him and the team. In terms of the concussion, you know, he's been in the locker room since then. Now when he was in concussion protocol, we couldn't talk to him, but now he's on IR, and he hasn't said anything about any details about how the concussion happened. And the way that Cowboys have talked about it, it doesn't sound like it's anything of, you know, where there was any type of a legal issue or anything where, you know, police would be involved.

So they've kind of just put him on IR and said that he's rehabbing from another new knee injury, and then obviously because of the concussion. And so it's kind of like they're moving on with new players. and they probably want to get a look at some of their younger corners, Savon Ravel, who they drafted in the third round this year. He's come off of a knee injury, and so he's supposed to return after the by week. And I think that that's the plan for them. And so it's not a great secondary with them having the two first round picks

the next year's draft. I would bet a lot of money that one of those two will be on a corner. But yeah, the idea of having digs and bland out there and Kair Elam, like was their plan going into the season is clearly been a disaster. Okay, so next season, you know, the optimism, it's always next year. I get it. I'm a Jets fan. But I need to ask you, the offense has made quite a leap this season, largely thanks to Mr. Pickens.

He's also in a contract year. Jerry has not signed him yet. Maybe that would probably be a little early. John, I got to ask you, are they retaining Pickens? I know Jerry loves to string these things out for the reality TV show that is the Cowboys. But your best guess is Pickens on this team next year? Yeah, absolutely. And I understand there is a small caveat.

People will say, whatever I'm about to say now, people will say, well, you can say this about Micah Parsons. So let me just, let me add in there that as long as George Pickens doesn't lie on a training table during a preseason game and do some of the things that, you know, aggravated the Cowboys front office, you know, in the two or three months leading up to when he got traded. I anticipate that they will franchise tag George Pickens, try and get him signed to a long-term deal. If it has not happened,

then I can see them having him play next year under that franchise tag. Now, that's around $28 million for a wide receiver, and you're already paying CD-LAM over $30 million. But those two have clicked too much for me to think that Jerry will go in another direction. And Jerry loves his wide receivers. He loves his offensive playmakers. He loves his offensive players. That's where he spends all of his money.

And so I just don't see a world where he lets him. George Piggins out of the building. Yeah. Can we ask Piggins how he feels about the franchise tag? He's playing like a top 10, 12 receiver in the league. You know, T. Higgins didn't love the franchise tag situation in CINC. I'm sure Piggins is looking around the league saying, hey, look what I did to our offense. You guys think it's shoddy. No, no, it's me.

And that's why Dack is looking like a potential, you know, MVP guy. Pickens only 24, turning 25. we know how things went for him in Pittsburgh when it started to go sideways. If he's not going to get paid, do you think we see a little unhappy? There could be for sure. Now, I wasn't in Pittsburgh, and I can only go off what I've seen from him in Dallas. And I will say the friendship he has with C.D. Lamb, I highly doubt he had one of those in Pittsburgh, and he certainly didn't have the quarterback he has now in Pittsburgh.

And Piggins and Dak could become close as well. And so there's just a part with the Cowboys where players can sometimes unite together and keep each other in good spirits while Jerry's stirring things up. And so I think that they can make it work. But yeah, I don't think he would be thrilled to be playing under the franchise tag by no means,

especially with the season he's having right now. And he does have the same agent as Michael Parsons. So there's no shortage of drama in Dallas and it will not stop anytime soon either. I'm just saying if I had to predict right now, When they open the season, next year, week one, George Pickens is still wearing the number three for the Dallas Cowboys. All right, last one real quick.

Brian Schottenheimer, we are eight or nine games in for the Cowboys. How would you grade him so far at the midway point through the season? I'd say he's probably a C-plus. I think he does everything behind the scenes. And in terms of dealing with Jerry Jones, that's not an easy task. There's a lot of other things that come with being the Cowboys coach. I think he does a good job navigating, you know, coming into work. on a Friday morning and you're finalizing your game plan and you find out that you're not going to have your

starting corner because he suffered a concussion at his home the night before, you know, things like that that a lot of other organizations you have to deal with. I think Brian is well suited for that, but you can't really give them any higher grade than that because the wins just haven't been there on the field. I mean, to go into the biweek with only three wins and the hardest part of their schedule is coming up. I mean, I think he has a chance to turn it around and have them finish strong. but to not even have consecutive wins through the midway point of the season's obviously not great, but he's not going anywhere. Jerry loves him.

He'll be here for at least another season beyond this one. It's weird. They play up to their competition, right? Eagles, Packers, and then down. Caleb Williams lost, Bryce Young lost. Like, eh. Anyway. All right, John Machota covers the Cowboys for the Athletic.

Great stuff. John, thanks a lot. Enjoy the Jerry scene. I will. I will. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, all right. Good stuff. Cowboys never a dull moment. You know, that's a job. When I was a young guy, I wanted my job. I wanted to cover the Lakers. I'm not kidding. And John is probably basically covering the Lakers just in the NFL. Crazy, never a dull moment. All right. Great show. First Things First is next.

Cowherds likely back tomorrow. He's listed as probable on the injury report. 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? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to... 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 was... 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 on Humor 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? 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 athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to

hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral, moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelive 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 at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface, because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've made. never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That means. Man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. After you go through a training camp with that, IZE, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 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, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, 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. The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown if you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conkey, his best friend and business. manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast 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 calling it. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming 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.

Thank you.