The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - NFL Trade Deadline Grades

Episode Date: November 1, 2023

Colin gives out his grades for teams who made moves ahead of the NFL trade deadline. Senior NFL Insider for The Athletic Dianna Russini talks Cowboys standing pat at the deadline and the 49ers adding Chase Young.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

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Or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Well, she does a terrific job, and we're lucky to have her on a regular basis. Diana Rusini was dominant at the local level, went to ESPN, crush. Now the athletics said, get over here and break stories and give us context. And there she is, Diana. Okay, so you're not supposed to ask two-part questions, so I'll break a rule in our business. One, did it catch the league by surprise what the Raiders did?

and then just a second parter, is there a significant name they're pursuing or is it in-house stuff? So let's start with that it shocked the league. Well, I'm glad that you paid attention to those Swarski classes that we took together at ESS and back in the day. And you just broke to those listening and watching right now, it's a role. You don't ask two-part questions because people gravitate towards the easier one and they forget the second one. And that's exactly what happened. And so I now forgot your questions. Did it shock the league?

Asked one, Colin. All right. Ask it. Did it shock the league? Did it shock the league what the Raiders did? It didn't. It did not shock the league at all. In fact, there had been whispers around the leagues, around league circles for weeks now

that Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler were going to be a tandem and they were going to be in trouble here. I spoke to Mark Davis actually in person in New York at the league meetings and just asked them straight up. I said, are you going to fire Josh soon? He said, we're just going to try to win and then we're going to assess it. So this wasn't one of these answers where he goes, are you crazy? What are you nuts? Where are you getting this idea from? It was obviously we're not performing at a really high level.

And, you know, they always say it's one thing to lose, Colin. It's another thing to lose the locker room. And that just seems to be the state of the Raiders at this point, which is why you're seeing some of the moves being made now in terms of, of interim with Antonio Pierce taking over a really good player type coach. Obviously, connect with these guys with all his years of experience. Now, listen, they're paying Gruden and they're also paying Josh now a fortune. And this is not the richest owner.

In fact, you could argue it's the poorest owner. So from a business standpoint, economically, you could see them moving an interim in, saving some money if the players buy into it. I would go get a hardball, but I don't have to write the checks. What is your guess? They'll go big star, big name, college guy, or maybe an interim guy. You know, they had a special teams guy about a year ago or two years ago. They put in, he was good.

Players liked him. Where are they going to go? Yeah, they did that two years ago. Players loved him. They did not like him. They loved him. They were crying when he didn't get the job. And it seemed that that was going to be the fit for them.

And then he went for the big splash, Mark Davis, and hired Josh McDaniels trying to instill that Patriot way in Las Vegas. So look, I'm going to go based on what I see in front of me and his history, which is continue to go big splash. And like you mentioned back in the day with him bringing John Gruden out of the booth and bringing him in to take over. So look, I would like to think he can learn at his age that maybe that's not the way that for this organization, perhaps someone in place where it's already working. You get to see it and give it a little bit of a test run. But we saw them have some success there. And he went big.

So look, if I had to predict right now, I think he takes a sit back here and tries to take a look at this entire landscape. I can tell you he's already had conversations with agents that represent coaches and potential candidates for head coaching jobs coming up. So the work is already in place. Okay. Now, the Cowboys didn't make moves at the deadline. Your sources, surprised by that. Did they get close? Did they kick tires, Diana?

couple players. Yeah, let me first tell you a really good high-ranking Dallas who shared with me over text. He said, we tried. We tried. So in terms of the actual position, I didn't have any conversations with any general managers where they were telling me, yeah, Dallas is pushing hard here. I do think there was an attempt. I don't think there was a strong one.

I know that offensive line was not a priority or I'd assume that that was going to be one of the areas that they were going to start with. knowing that they've had some injuries and some problems there, but that is not where they were getting aggressive. Defense seems to be the area that they were looking at. But again, they didn't go all in and they had an opportunity here, but they didn't make any moves while we know the teams that they are going to be competing with here towards, you know, December, January.

They obviously made some big ones. Okay, so I like Montez Sweat. Now, they have a surplus of delinement, but by moving Chase Young and Sweat, that tells you they're going to double down and the players they have in the trenches, Washington. I'm sure Ron Rivera fought for de-linement, but they got a new owner.

They'll probably have a new coach. But Chicago is getting crushed for it. And my takeaway is it tells me that they're probably going to restart the quarterback contract. They're going to move on and draft the quarterback. So why not pay a dominant defensive lineman? Again, I think Sweat's a really good player. Chicago, Diana, is,

I mean, I don't think people love the GM, the coach, the quarterback, bit of a circus. Should I read anything in to the Montez Sweat move, desperation, or am I just reading too much into it? No, I don't think you're reading too much into it. I think you're trying to figure out how they're putting a roster together because they have been all over the place. And it's been a bit of a circus. This is the same team that shipped away, Rokhwan Smith, who's now playing at a really good level. And he was having success in Chicago. So now they ship broke on and now they bring in Montez Sweat here.

And they're going to be, from what I was told, going to be attempting to work out a long-term contract because that was something that was in question yesterday. Because if they were just doing this in exchange for a second round pick, why would they just make such a significant trade for a rental? That's not what you do. So the good news for Chicago Bears fans, it sounds like they're going to be trying to get a long-term deal done here. with sweat. But, you know, when I have conversations around the league, Colin, about this position,

about especially these two players specifically coming out of Washington, you know, I had one GM late last week just going, explaining how difficult it is to really find pass rushers during free agency. So now Chicago can bring in a really good player. They've got his rights. They probably don't want a franchise tag him if they're not able to get a deal of them. But they're going to try to do that. But to me, this tells me, Chicago. is just trying to find the pieces to build the way successful teams build, and that's on the lines. Look around the league.

The successful teams build on the defensive line and offensive lines, and this is just a piece that they could add for their future. All right. Finally, Joshua, we got lucky yesterday. I said, if I was Minnesota, I sat on the air before it happened, I'd get Dobbs, smart kid fits in, loved in the locker room, because I think Minnesota, between their coach left tackle, Justin, Jordan Addison, they're tied in.

I like their offensive pieces a lot, and I think with the Packers and the Bears a bit of a mess, I think they can win a wild card spot. So, but it is now, we have a Kirk Cousins injury. My take is they'll move off and will they? Give me a little clarity on Dobbs, Kirk Cousins, because people love Kirk and he's good, but now he's mid-30s and hurt, and it does feel like they kind of, they'd like to move off without doing it publicly because they like him. Where are we on Cousins, Dobbs,

and the future of Minnesota here? Yeah. Let's just start with Cousins. You know, I've been around this team. I've had multiple conversations with people in that building about how they feel about Kirk and it's everything that you just painted.

Now, when there was conversations about him possibly getting traded to New York, that is not at all what I was hearing, obviously, and we now know that was never part of their plans. But the conversation I was having with Minnesota was about Kirk possibly being part of their future, right? So so many around the league had thought that maybe they were going to move on and Kirk would once again hit the free agent market. But for what I can gather, obviously you heard their head coach, Kevin O'Connell say yesterday, we all, you know, you all know how I feel. And for those who don't know how he feels, he loves Kirk, right?

He's had so much success in his offense. It works. They have a good relationship. So I thought that there was going to be a world where the Vikings were going to be able to work out a deal, a Jim Gropolo type of contract, to keep Kirk cousins in Minnesota knowing that it works, knowing he loves being there, his family is part of the community. We've all seen it on the Netflix show. So that's the Kirk side of this. The Josh Dobbs side of this makes all the sense in the world. He's able to step in here.

He has proven that he can come in here and learn quickly. I mean, the kid drove almost, you know, how many hours he did to join the. Tennessee Titans last year and step in and win or at least have success. But what it does tell me about him in terms of Arizona is he is expendable. And I say that respectfully to Josh Jobs, he's a good quarterback. He's not a great quarterback. But he does solve the problems for Minnesota who wasn't looking to make a big investment to fill this whole of Kirk Cousins right now when they're on a bit of,

they're hitting a point where they're finding themselves and they're having some success. So Josh Jobs is a good answer. Now I can tell you, the Vikings spent a lot of time, Colin, going around the league, scanning the market, going what works? The type of conversations that they were having in the building. Trey Lance's name came up. Remember, the Vikings were interested in him during the combine around that time about possibly trading for Lance and bring him on and it never worked out. Right. So now, you know, he's in Dallas.

I was told, though, the conversation last in about a minute. and they moved on from it. They went to go look at the free agent markets for quarterbacks. But in the end, they didn't have to give up much. And Josh Jobs is now the answer. And it looks to be Kyler Murray in Arizona will be playing very soon. I was told before Thanksgiving at least. All right.

Diana Rusini, the athletic senior NFL insider. She's been very busy and will continue to be great seniors always. Thanks, Colin. You bet. So the Raiders are paying Gruden, as you pointed out earlier. They're paying not Josh McDaniels for another four years. Her point is they may have a step back year, kind of settle, let it settle. Mark Davis is, I think, the poorest owner.

Now, again, let's put that relative to what. But I think, you know, Stan Cronkey'd write checks. But at some point, they're paying a fortune for people not in the building. And it's not against your cap, but owners generally don't like to do that. So Raiders and Chargers, probably not in the mix for Jim Harbaugh. When you talk about step back and notoriously frugal, not cheap, frugal owners from the Chargers. That's a good word.

Better than just saying he's a cheapskate. Yeah, he's not. I mean, Gruden wasn't cheap. And I don't think Josh McDaniels was cheap. It doesn't mean that they were the right hires or the wrong hires, but it didn't work. Well, McDaniels was very the wrong hire. All right, I've got a great parlay for you this weekend. Thanks to Draft King Sportsbook, New Users.

Please use the code Hurd when you download the app. Now for my parley pick of the week via Draft King Sportsbook. Dolphins at the Chiefs, Kansas City, overseas minus two and a half. Andy Reid off a loss. Mahomes off a loss. Kansas City has a much better O-line and defense. They rebound and I will swallow the two and a half points. Seahawks at the Ravens minus six.

Better quarterback at home, better defense. I like the Ravens here. Ugly win over Arizona. They're a tough, Huff home favorite, I like them here to beat Seattle in cover. Bingles minus two and a half, I like them hosting the bills to cover. I think Cincinnati's defense is more consistent. Burroughs situationally at homes better than Josh Allen on the road.

Three favorites, Chiefs, Ravens, Bengals, I'll take all of them. You want to take the herd parlay, check out Draft King's sportsbook. New users, please use the code Hurd when you download the app. 21 plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. In New York, call 8778-8 Hope-N-Wire, or text Hope NY 4667-369. See show notes for full details.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to? I do a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have age. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. J-Mack for the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News. We've got something fun here for you.

We'll start, we'll slow pedal here with the Jags. Remember that Jags Steelers game? So Deonti Johnson was so upset with the referees when they lost to the Jags that he said they cost the Steelers the game. Well, during his weekly press conference, Mike Tomlin took a different approach and said he did not want the team to use the officiating as an excuse going forward. I know a lot has been written and said or asked about the officiating and so forth.

Here's my mindset and our mindset regarding officiating, man. It is our desire to win definitively. where potentially controversial calls are less significant. That's what good teams do. That's what elite teams do is our desire to be a good and elite team so that we're not as flimsy and become a component of some debatable calls and things of that nature.

You just simply got to make those things, those discussions less significant by the quality of your play, by winning and winning definitively. And obviously, we didn't play well enough for that to transpire. Yeah, I always think when fans start blaming play calling and refs, you've got the wrong quarterback, but they're not moving off Kenny Pickett.

First four drives, three and out, three and out, three and out. Blame who you want. It's not the refs. They've been outgained in every game this season. Yeah. This stat, I tried to check it. It almost seems unfathomable. 55 straight games under 400 yards?

I don't even know how you do that. That's so bad. Defensive coach, defensive culture, money on the defensive side over and over and over. of the highest rates of three and out in the league, as you alluded to. Yeah, I mean, they're just, it's a BB gun. It's a water pistol. And you know what they'll do. They'll fire Matt Canada and say, let's try a new O.C.

And they'll be loyal to that guy forever. Just wasting another year. Green Bay, you think's in a bad spot. But they're moving off, Jordan Love. Pittsburgh's going to delude themselves and convince themselves because he's a local kid. And he's better than Jordan Love. He's the guy. And then six years later, you look up and don't have any playoff wins because it's Mahalms,

Burrow, Tua. I mean, the gauntlet, Lamar. Yeah. Trevor Lawrence, Herbert. All right. Now, this is the story, Colin. This has been a big one so far today. So remember Michigan staffer, Connor Stallion,

the guy who allegedly was videotaping. You bashed the story and mocked it. Well, during a Central Michigan State game earlier this season, it looks like Stallion was on the Central Michigan sideline. Oh, oh. Now, we still don't know about the evidence. Here's a picture. Is this Stalions?

Everybody's going through it. How come he's wearing a central Michigan hat? Well, that's where it gets a little dicey. Is this him? Shades, a little goatee action there. Why is he wearing shades? That's fishy. This is where it gets interesting.

So here's what Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain had to say about. Jim McElwain, my buddy, yeah. We've obviously are aware of a picture floating around with the signstead. guy, you know, our people are doing everything they can to get to the bottom of it. We're unaware, totally unaware of it. I certainly don't condone it in any way, shape, or form. And, you know, I do know that his name was on none of the passes that were let out. Now we just keep tracing it back and tracing it back and try to figure it out. All right.

In addition to this disaster, and it's like, bro, is he going undercover to sneak onto a sideline to see what Michigan State's doing? Like, it feels very sketchy. In addition, Bruce Feldman just dropped the story at like a poll of anonymous coaches. How bad is this? At the athletic. What are the coaches saying? Well, they're all anonymous, but they're saying this is bad. Like on a scale of one to five, how bad is it?

They're saying it's five. It's bad. So I've been reluctant to go all in defending or attacking. But I'm just telling you, I don't think this story's going away. I know you don't. There's much ado about nothing. Oh, I think there'll be a hand slap, absolutely. I think we're headed toward.

What? What are we headed toward? I don't think it's going to be like Joel Klatt's kind of laughing at it. Nothing's going to happen this year. And I would agree with him. Nothing's going to happen. But it seems like the NCAA is really digging their heels in here. Because Harbaugh embarrassed them with that whole hamburger thing, like mock

it and it almost looks like they want some sort of revenge and I don't know that Harbaugh has a lot of allies in this one. I don't know what's going to come of it, but Colin, if this is the dude here sneaking on a sideline, what are we doing? Well, Harbaugh can say, we didn't tell him to do that. He just went rogue, right? Well, people go rogue all the time. Yeah. We had a president who went rogue not long ago. People go rogue all the time. Okay. Well, I mean, I'm not, I think what they're doing, advanced scouting will get them in trouble. I think there's great hypocrisy all over the sport because everybody does some scouting. Is this too much of a line for you?

Let me ask you this. Let's say Harbaugh, if I was Harbaugh, would you sign the contract knowing what if you get four-year suspension, limited scholarship? He's not sign. He would be silly to sign, right? So that's my takeaway is I'm not signing a contract. Michigan needs me more than I need Michigan. got a million jobs he could take. If you got whack, couldn't you just go to the NFL? I don't think they're going to whack him.

But is this the kind of thing where, you know, journalists will look up Michigan, you know, public university. Hey, we're going to look at all the emails sent. If there's a lot of communication, I can't. I mean, this guy's dumb enough to go on a sideline if it's him. There's probably some kind of paper trail somewhere, Colin. I just, I don't think the story's going away. I don't love it.

But it's undercover on a sideline? I don't think it's the first time it's happened. Okay. I think there's a lot more spying than people think. And I think it's done on TV. I think every, I think Wisconsin tapes every team they play. They're looking for signals. And I think it's done.

I think this is a level beyond that. But seat geek in an iPhone doesn't freak me out. This is the worst part of it I've seen. But some low-level staffer, ooh, I got to- We don't know that it's him. A lot of people are saying it looks like him. We'll see. It looks like actor Ed Norton.

Maybe he was auditioning for a part. That guy's good. American History X. One of the most underrated movies of the last 25 years. Awesome movie. Final story. The Sixers ended the James Hardin era on Monday night

after they shipped him to the Clippers for a package of players. Now, everybody wants to know. Who are the Sixers going to go get? They've got all this cap space. Expiring deals. Chris Mannix reports. Philly Mae Target. Wait for it. Zach Levine.

Oh, geez. Or O.G. Anerobie of the Derraptor. Daryl falls in love with talent. Zach Levine's not a winning player. Well, here's what we're doing. Every reporter, journalist on the NBA is speculating. You know, there's probably a list of 10 guys, 15 guys, O.G. N and O. Give me somebody behind. Pascal Seaccom. That guy's an interesting player. He's a little NBA player. I like him. I like him. He'll pass the ball. In the finals against the Warriors, he was like, okay, solid. No, I like Pascal Seaccombe.

Why don't you like Zach Levine here? I had 51 the other night. Team got blown out. Well, he had zero assists. Zero assists. There you go. It's okay. Clay. Thompson didn't have a lot of assists when he had 50 so on points. Zach Levine, 51 of points, no assists. So I'm just going to remind you. You know what you like him?

Because you're him. I would love to be his three-point shooting the other day. You do not pass. Stop it. You're the Patrick Ewing of your rec league. Patrick Ewing? You never get the ball back. You're Patrick Ewing without the block shots.

Wow. You pass to you. You never see him back. I have no blocks on the season. But real quick, on Zach Levine, he's been a one in a lot of spots. He's not a one. He's a really good one. Okay.

If he's a three with Maxie and Embed Doesn't pass the ball You don't need him to. He's catching and shooting threes. He's an AAU star. It's AAU basketball. Hops, shoots, dunks. Does he make anybody better? By the way, his Space Jam

NBA dunk title is better than any NBA dunk title ever. Better than Jordan over Dominique. It was amazing. His dunk title, what's that mean? You know the dunk contest when he won it and he did the Space Jam, came out with like the Space Jam,

and it was doing nasty dunks? That was You notice LeBron doesn't even Enter the dunk contest Zach Levine is not LeBron JPS That is accurate Stop hating on Zach Levine

I'm not hating I'm just acknowledging the truth 51 points no assist The other night JMAX sends a tweet to me Hey 51 points And I'm like he lost And then a guy in the rebuttals

Like no assists I knew that would brighten your weekend JMAQ with the news Well that's the news And thanks for stopping by The Hurd Lide Hand out some grades for the trade deadline next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

Hey, we're Kavino and Rich. Fox Sports Radio every day, 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern. But here's the thing. We never have enough time to get to everything we want to get to. And that's why we have a brand new podcast called Overpromised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two-hour show. We never get to everything. Honestly, because this guy is overpromising things we never have time for.

Yeah, you blubber lips. Blame and me. Well, you know what? It's called over-promise. You should be good at it because you've been over-promising women for years. Well, it's a Kavino and Rich after show, and we want you to be a part of it. We're going to be talking sports, of course. But we're also going to talk life and relationships.

And if Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it will continue on our after show called over-promised. Well, if you don't get enough, Kavino and Rich, make sure you check out over-promised. And also uncensored, by the way. Maybe we'll go at it even a little harder. It's going to be the best after-show podcast of all time. There you go. Over-promising. And remember, you could see it on YouTube, but definitely join us.

Listen to Overpromised with Kavino and Rich on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all. embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Probably serve my country but struggles in civilian life. USVs helped me when I need it the most.

I am now an artist with a place to call home. Join U.S. Vits on their mission to end veteran homelessness. Make Camel your cause to honor U.S. Vets. Fox Sports proudly salutes our nation's veterans, which is why we are making camo our cause in support of the Honor U.S. Vets campaign. Now through Veterans Day, you can donate to help end veteran homelessness and post picks wearing your camo on social media with the hashtag honor U.S. vets. Cowboys Eagles big weekend.

Yesterday was the NFL trade deadline. So over the last several days, many of the very good teams added a piece. J-Mack, let's grade the trades. You ready to go? Yeah, yeah. Let's grade the 49ers acquiring Chase Young. Well, I give it a B-plus. Here's why.

It's only a third round pick. And the Eagles, the Cowboys and the Lions, may have the three best O lines in the league. So they're saying, listen, let's stop the blitzing. It's not what we do. Let's just add another pass rusher to what we do. It's almost like the Chargers saying Bosa and Khalil Mack, we got to face Bahamah twice a year. Let's get another pass rusher.

I think the Niners look at the NFC and think the teams in front of us have better quarterbacks and better old lines. We have to disrupt it. So I give it a B-plus. What's the grade for the Bears acquiring Montez Sweat? Like, I don't get people in Chicago. I like it, B-plus. First of all, they don't get to the quarterback.

They have the few with sacks in the league. And Montez Sweat is one of seven players who gets at least five sacks since he entered the league. They gave up a second round pick. Well, they have two firsts. And they've got to pay somebody because they're not going to pay Justin Fields. And they're going to draft another quarterback. They just do not get to the quarterback. So you've got to spend money on a defensive lineman.

What's the chances you could get a player as good as him immediately in the second round? almost none. The best pass rushers and the best left tackles almost always go top of the first round. They don't float to the second round, so I like the move, B-plus. What's the grade for the bills acquiring Rasul Douglas? I give it an A.

Now, he's bounced around, but he's a cold-weather player, he's tough, he's physical, and it's a need for them. He's been part of a winning culture. Again, I don't think he's going to last here forever, but, you know, they gave up a third, they got back a fifth,

them, they have an immediate issue in the AFC. And this guy gets the ball. He has the third most interceptions in the NFL over the last three seasons. So he's a guy that's been around. He can make plays. He's been with a winning culture. Not necessarily going to be there forever, but I think he makes Buffalo better today. Tough kid. All right. Great. The Vikings acquiring Josh Dobbs. It's a B. I mean, his last 10 starts, he's one in nine career record, but he's a grown-up, he'll learn the offense. This is a very skilled receiving court. Justin Jefferson comes back.

Hawkinson the tight end. Jordan Addison's been a boom rookie. Also Osborne, great left tackle, offensive coach. He'll walk in, he'll make them in that division the second best team. And so this is the one we kind of predicted. Again, he's going to give you 63% completion percentage. With this O line and this group, that probably rises to 64. percent. His passer rating's been 82 in his career. This probably goes up to about 80, 4, 85 with this

coach, this O-line, and this unit. But I like it. All right. Great. The Eagles acquiring Kevin Byard. Now, I give it a B because I don't love spending money on safeties. And they also have two very good corners. But again, this is them going for a Super Bowl, shoring up a weakness. Again, he gets a lot of interceptions, very instinctive player. I, you know, I banged on the Seahawks when they went big money safeties. I don't love spending money on safeties, but he's an upgrade for a secondary where I like the corners, Bradbury and Slay, so I give it a B. He is an all-pro a couple times. The Seahawks, great them for acquiring Leonard Williams. See, no, I think this is a great one. So Seattle's not scoring a lot of points, and they're struggling to be, I mean,

they outplayed Cincinnati and lost. They should have lost to Detroit. Cleveland gave him fits. So what did they say? Let's just double down on our defense. We're getting to the quarterback. I'm going to give it an A – I loved it. So Leonard Williams is an SC guy. He's played on the West Coast.

What they're saying is we can't upgrade it quarterback. Gino is what we have. And we know of all the NFC playoff teams and AFC playoff teams, Gino could arguably be the weakest quarterback outside of Brock Purdy in the playoffs. So let's double down. We're getting to the quarterback. This is an offense that doesn't pick up a lot of first downs, so let's keep the score low, double down on our strength.

I know you think I'm being a Seattle homer, but I love this move. And finally, the grade for the Lions securing Donovan People's Jones. Well, it's a hedge with Jameson Williams, who can't catch, but he's brilliantly talented. It's a C. You know, I mean, I don't think he's a different. He had 800 receiving yards last year, and he is a downfield receiver. So he'll get 15 plus yards.

They're already really good back, tight end, wide receiver, but they have an excellent O line, and Goff throws a beautiful deep ball. So I think they look at it, hey, once again, can he go over the top? I think they want James and Williams to be that guy, but the other night, I mean, they just, he's, maybe he's good in a year. Detroit's going to lose Ben Johnson, your take on this? Let's get good now. Can somebody upgrade us over the top?

And I think he does that. America knows you are the friendliest teacher. It looks like you only gave out one grade below a B on all these. You're just excited about all these moves. You like them all. Well, I think if you look at the teams, Niners good team, Bill's good team, Vikings good franchise, Eagles good team, Seahawks good team, Detroit good team. So you skipped over the Bears.

Well, they're not. This is my argument. Everybody in Chicago is killing it. You're not going to get a player as good as Montez Sweat. You're not going to get that level of edge rusher, who's this good immediately in the draft. Okay, but time out, you could just sign him in free agency. Washington wasn't keeping him.

They're not going to tag him. They're not keeping him. He's going to be on the market. So you could have just said, well, we'll just keep. I would rather him get in with my defensive coaches. I know that I give him leverage for his agent. I'm going to have to pay him anyway, and I'm not, who am I paying? I'm not paying the quarterback.

The old lines are a bunch, mostly, your tackles are kids. You're not, you got rid of Roquan Smith. Who are you paying? Right. I mean, you're paying DJ. more. But I mean, to me, what they're saying is, if you look in the NFL right now, the good GMs are willing to pay for four things, a quarterback, a left tackle, a really good weapon, and somebody in that front five. You might as well go buy this guy in the market. Monta

Sweat's not going to be on the market. Free agency, bidding war, you may not get him. I want him in-house. That's fair. I think the issue is, and you know this, asset allocation, is this a wise usage of resources? We're giving up the, what might be like the 35th, 37th pick, which has huge value. Top of the second round. That's like a really good player. I'm Chicago. I've already got two first.

Okay. So you need players. It's not like that roster stacked. We talked about worst rosters in the league. Bears are certainly down there. There's not a lot of years. They're going to get a quarterback. And my guess is they're going to get, they don't need a left tackle.

They'll probably go to, they already have a defensive end. This creates clarity. So they just drafted tackle. So they don't need that. So they're going to get a quarterback. They just got a defensive end. Last year they got a tackle with their first pick. So I don't think, I think what they'll do.

My guess is what Chicago does. Takes a quarterback. Think about this. Takes a quarterback with their first pick. Takes the second pick, trades down and gets that number two pick back. That's possible. Let me also note Chase Young, who was a much more highly touted player coming out of college. I know he had the injury.

But sweat's a better player now. And he doesn't get hurt as much and he's not as much a freelancer. I take Montess's sweat over. Chase Young went for a compensatory third round picks. So, like, we're talking like 70 picks after what they bears gave up for Montesville. Yeah, but Montes Sweat's a better player. Is he that much better? Chase Young has injuries and is a freelancer.

The reason San Francisco makes that move because, A, better roster, take a swing. And the other thing is, they've already got a good defensive line. They don't need him. Montes Sweat is who the Bears will build around. That's a build around player. but Washington's got pain they'll pay for and the other kid Jonathan Allen I think yeah yeah yeah so they got guys and they moved on I would take Montez sweat tomorrow over Chase Young although I think in San Francisco's galaxy it makes sense again Detroit Dallas Philly have great O lines very good tackle play you can't they don't the Niners are saying we're tired of Bosa getting doubled on everything so Armstead hardgrave bosa young it's got to be single blocking you're going to create disruption to Jalen Hertz Jared Goff, Dak Prescott. We didn't talk about the ramifications of the trade as it comes to gambling this week.

Washington at Patriots, it was two and a half, too. Okay, some folks in Vegas hit it hard before the trades. It's now three and a half. Do you take the Patriots laying three and a half at home against Washington, or do you like Sam Howell against Belichick? I'll take New England. As will I. That's the bet. That's the bet.

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